Cop Out
by Johnny Devlyn
Summary: Kate totally copped out at the end of season two, and this is what could have happened if Rick had called her on it. They spend the weekend vacation together and... well, you have to read to find out. :-D
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I know this is a bit late in coming, but this is based on the season two finale and how I wished it would have gone. **

Kate sat in her living room, pretending to read. She eventually sighed in frustration and set the book aside, finally admitting to herself what she was really doing was moping.

She broke up with a perfectly lovely man for another one who walks away from her in the arms of another woman.

Kate curled her legs up to her chest and thought about Tom. He was a good cop, a good man and she knew he'd be much more reliable than a playboy mystery novelist. But she'd burned that bridge. There was no way she'd ask him to take her back, assuming she even wanted to. She wasn't that cruel. And how fickle would she look, changing her mind about Tom twice in one day?

It was making her sad thinking about him and how royally she'd blown it with Demming.

So she tried to put him from her mind and jumped to the next topic she'd been dwelling on. And then she started getting mad. Mad at Castle, mad at herself, and mad at his stupid ex-wife.

_And on that childish note_, she thought, rolling her eyes at herself.

With a mental shake and an admonition to place blame where it was due, she acknowledged that she was mad at Castle, even though she knew it wasn't really fair. Rick had followed her like a faithful puppy for over an entire year and when he finally takes the hint that she's not gonna go there with him, she changes her mind. Only he's finally moved on.

Kate finally acknowledged that she was mostly mad at her self. She hadn't been willing to see _why_ he was following her. She just accepted the "research" excuse and never looked too closely. Oh, she knew he was attracted to her, but never really took his flirting seriously. Now she saw and actually understood how much he had cared about her. _Jordan was right, darn it!_ she silently griped, upset, not that Jordan had seen through her so easily, but that she hadn't seen it before someone else had. _He really did care about me. And I ... I care about him, too_. She finally admitted.

And he had already, finally, moved on.

She dropped her elbow on the back of the couch, her hand shoving through her hair in frustration. She didn't know whether to be furious or depressed, so she ended up just feeling miserable in general.

A sudden- obnoxious- knock sounded at the door, causing Kate to jump and her heart to start racing. She was almost embarrassed about her gasp of surprise, until she remembered she was alone in the room.

_Always alone_, she silently grumbled as she got up to answer the door. She guessed it would be Lanie on the other side of the door.

…That is until whoever it was knocked again, obviously impatient now.

"I'm coming!" she snapped at the door seconds before she reached for the knob. She was so annoyed she didn't look first, just yanked the door open, and then fell back a step in surprise. "Castle! What are you doing here?"

"That's not what you were going to say," he blurted, obviously riled up. He paced several steps into her apartment- uninvited- and added, "What were you going to say?"

After a confused- annoyed- pause during which she glared at Rick's back, Kate shut the front door. Turning back to frown at Castle, she replied, "Who's the jackass knocking obnoxiously at my front door this late at night?"

He shook his head and Kate imagined she could hear the loose screw rattle around a bit in his head. "When we were at the precinct, you were trying to tell me something. But then Gina showed up and you… you copped out."

"I did not cop out!"

"Yes, you did. You were going to say something that was obviously difficult for you to spit out, then Gina walked up and you said 'have a great trip.' You copped out," he accused, stepping into her personal space so he could level a glare at her.

Her lips had pressed together and she had glared at him as he had spoken. Now she crossed her arms, leaning closer in an attempt to take back control of the conversation by not letting his nearness appear to affect her. She brought her nose centimeters from Rick's. "What was I supposed to do?" she snapped angrily. "Tell you I'd changed my mind, and spend the weekend in the Hamptons watching you and your ex make cow eyes at each other?" He was obviously surprised and when a long moment passed without a response, she repeated her earlier question, "What are you doing here, Castle?"

Ignoring the question- again- he wondered, "You changed your mind?"

"Yes, I …"

"About this weekend?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes, I …"

"Or about me?" he added, talking over her again.

She paused before she replied this time, knowing better than to bite her lip or avoid eye contact, both of which she was tempted to do. When she finally inhaled deeply to reply, Rick knew the coming words were going to be a lie. Or a half truth, at least. "I changed my mind about going to the Hamptons this weekend. I haven't had a real vacation in a long time."

"That's all you were going to say? There was nothing else you were going to add?" Castle prompted, obviously fishing.

Her eyes widened innocently and she batted her lashed once or twice. "What else could I possibly have to add?"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he saw no way to force the truth out of her. Instead, he moved on. "You're going to the Hamptons with me then?"

"I already told you, Castle. I'm not going to watch you and…"

"She's not going," he quickly offered, talking over her again. It was a new annoying habit he seemed to have picked up in the last half hour and Kate hoped it was a habit that wouldn't stick.

Then she realized what he'd said, and she repeated stupidly, "She's not going?"

"No," he replied in disgust. "I hadn't even dropped her off to pack yet, and she was already getting on my nerves. And then, when I picked her up to head out, she started nagging me because my attention was still on figuring out what you had been trying to say and not on her. After about four blocks, I turned around and dropped her back at her place. I won't be going _anywhere_ with her again."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I realized we're only okay so long as all of my attention is on her."

"Oh," she said again.

There was a long- awkward- pause while each tried to think of something to say.

"So," Rick finally broke the silence. "You still want to go to the Hamptons?"

Her mouth twitched in a smile that she was fighting. "Are you sure you don't want Gina to go instead?" she teased.

"Heck, NO," he replied emphatically. Then he casually added, "I've already seen _her_ in a bathing suit." He finally grinned, and Kate was reminded why she liked having him around so much.

She suddenly realized just how close they had moved to each other during their conversation, and how blue his eyes looked this close up. Kate moved back, taking a half step away, striking a pose, and planting a fist on a cocked hip. "Unfortunately, I don't own a bathing suit," she fibbed in an 'aw shucks' tone.

Rick's eyes swept down her body, still very close to his own, and took his time as his gaze wandered back up. Her short silk pajama bottoms suddenly felt much too short, but she wasn't about to readjust them with him watching. And the spandex-like camisole felt much too tight and revealing as his gaze lingered on her bust. "Luckily, my place is minutes from a nude beach," he replied, finally meeting her eyes again.

She simply rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the blush that colored her cheeks. When Rick grinned, Kate knew she was caught. She turned and walked into her living room to hide her responding grin. "Would you like a drink?" she called back, knowing he had followed her into the kitchen when she started to disappear.

"Got any tequila?" he asked pointedly, teasing Kate just a little by referencing the steamy love scene he'd written, inspired by her.

"Not if you're driving us to your beach house tonight,"

**Author's note: I have no idea if there is a nude beach in the Hamptons, or anything else about the place. Rick was simply making a flirty comment to provoke a response from Kate. I currently have no plans to continue this, but I supposed I could if prompted. It might take me a while to think up a plot though, cause the whole Kate-and-Rick-get-together-and-start-a-family thing has been done to death. (Done very well in many cases, but still, there are too many for me to want to do another one).**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got to thinkin' about it, and this scene practically wrote itself. This is still only a one shot, I don't have any kind of plan to keep going past maybe one more chapter, but I guess we'll see. I guess all's I'm sayin' is please don't yell at me if this one doesn't get updated- soon or otherwise. ;-D**

Castle sat at her kitchen table, sipping his coffee, and trying not to make it obvious that he was staring at her bare legs. Over an hour later, and she still hadn't changed out of her tiny blue pajama shorts. Sometimes, if she leaned or stretched just a little, or when she walked, Rick could just see the spot where her thigh curved up into her…

"Ah-hum," Kate cleared her throat loudly, obviously trying to recall Rick's attention from her legs.

Rick's eyes snapped up to hers and he managed to say, "Nice apartment."

Despite all her better intentions, Kate smiled, knowing full well that Castle had _not_ been checking out her _apartment_. "It's not as nice as the one that blew up…"

"But I like it," Rick finished for her, not knowing that she'd been about to say the same thing.

After that, the pair lapsed into a long, comfortable silence. There had been a lot of those tonight. Rick had wandered about, sort of following Kate from room to room as she packed for the Hamptons. He sometimes offered suggestions as to what she should pack, and half the time she ignored his teasing; but the other half, she took his advice on appropriate beach house attire.

After the packing was finished, they sat in the kitchen silent again, but not completely comfortable in this 'comfortable silence.' Castle couldn't hold it back any longer; _the_ question. The one that had been driving him insane all night. "So, your weekend plans were cancelled?" When she gave him a blank look- a bit disingenuous, Rick thought- he prompted, "The bed and breakfast retreat you had planned with Demming?"

"Oh, yeah," she answered casually. "Those plans were cancelled."

After a long pause in which Castle waited for her to elaborate, he finally pressed- as politely as he was able- "So, what happened?"

Kate finally made direct eye contact and paused a moment to make sure she had his undivided attention. Then she reiterated, "The plans were cancelled," in a voice that let him know she didn't plan on elaborating further.

But Castle heard what he wasn't supposed to hear anyway, correctly guessing that it was Kate herself who cancelled those romantic weekend plans. Which left him wondering why. And Castle was never one to contain any question he wanted to ask- even when he guessed he wouldn't get an answer. "I thought you liked him."

"I do like him," Kate immediately replied. Then she reminded herself of the reason for cancelling her romantic-Demming-plans and figured she'd better come clean, whether she really wanted to or not. "I _did_ like him. He's really a great guy." Kate turned away, to the sink, to dump out the remains of her coffee. She sighed quietly and finally added, "Which is why it wouldn't have been fair to him to continue seeing him when I was interested in someone else."

Rick's eyes froze in their perusal- yet again- of her bare legs and snapped up to stare, wide-eyed, at the back of her head. "Kate?" was all he could manage to say, but he filled that one word with all of his questions.

And then she began rambling. "I didn't want to say anything because I was embarrassed, and I didn't think the feelings were reciprocated. I kept thinking, _he'd never be serious about someone like me_. And then I thought there was someone else, but now I just can't hold it in any longer. I have to tell you before I implode with the secret of it…" Kate finally turned back to face Castle, her hand moving to cover her rapidly rising and falling chest. She held his gaze and admitted, "I think I'm in love," she took a deep breath, and almost whispered, "With Kevin Ryan."

When Rick's eyeballs nearly fell out of his head- his eyes opened so wide- Kate began laughing hysterically. "You should see your face!" she gasped while her laughter continued.

When she'd regained _some_ sense of decorum, Castle griped, "I _knew_ I shouldn't have let you drink that entire glass of wine tonight."

Kate chuckled again and retorted, "You really think you could stop me?"

Rick's eyes narrowed at the challenge and after a moment of staring her down, he stood. It only took one step in the small room and Castle was all up in her personal space. And in a rookie move, Kate faltered, taking half a step back and cornering herself against the kitchen counter. When he advanced again, closing the gap to mere inches between them, Kate remembered that the best defense was a good offense; she drew herself up to her full height and stared him down. Although in her bare feet, the height advantage went to Castle, who took a moment to notice how short she was without her high heels on. Though still tall for a woman, she was much shorter than Rick was used to seeing her.

"You _can't_ think I haven't perfected by methods of persuading beautiful women to do what I want them to," Rick said, his voice low. "That would just be naïve of you, Kate. And we both know you're not _that_ naïve."

Kate managed to press back into his personal space, becoming the intimidator yet managing not to touch him. She replied, "_You_ can't think _I_ don't know how to wrap a man around my little finger if that's where I want him, Castle." Her voice lowered when she added, "Now _that_ would _really_ be naïve."

Castle was silent for a long moment as he stared her down. When she didn't back down, Rick ceded the argument. "Point taken. But the question now is: where do you want _me_?"

She gave him a smoky look and told him, "In my bedroom." She could tell her words had an affect on him that he tried to hide, but she saw it nonetheless. Her lips quirked into an almost-smile and she added, "Grabbing my suitcase and carrying it down to the car for me."

Rick smiled at her in acknowledgement of her teasing and returned in kind, "Do you ever reward these men who are so very happy to be wrapped around such an enchanting digit?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him and replied, "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself."

"And the anticipation will be exquisite." He raised one hand to tilt her head back, his finger under her chin and his thumb barely covering the tip. He studied her face for a long moment and Kate thought- hoped- he might kiss her.

Instead he smiled, walked away and retrieved her luggage- as commanded- and hauled the few cases to his car.


	3. Chapter 3

Castle had just finished loading Kate's two cases into his car and he was marveling over just how few of them there were. Even his daughter- who was oddly unconcerned with material things for a teen- usually packed more than this. Granted, half of her items were usually books…

He was just about to head back up to Kate's apartment when she suddenly appeared beside his car.

"You all ready to go?" he asked, surprised- though _why_, he was unsure.

Kate nodded. "Yep. Already ready already."

Rick smiled at her and shook his head. They each moved to enter the car and as they were settling, Rick noticed a third bag, now clutched in Kate's lap. He eyed the case and when Kate turned to look at him, he joked, "Please tell me there is something red and lacy in there?"

She smiled coquettishly at him and said, "Actually, there is." Kate reached to open the bag, her eyes remaining focused on his. She continued in a husky voice, "I was even going to wear it for you. Right. Now." She could see that she had his undivided attention as her hand searched within the bag. When it closed over the item she sought, she smiled wickedly and held it up.

It was a red sleep mask with a lacy ruffle around the edge.

Rick rolled his eyes at her, making an annoyed sound. "I fall for it every time," he complained, referring to the myriad, sexy little taunts Kate made. And then, before she could react, Rick's hand shot out and yanked the mask right from her grasp. "And you will _not_ be wearing that. You're the navigator!"

"You don't know the way to your own house?" Kate asked in disbelief.

As he started the car, Rick made a disgruntled noise- something akin to the noise a little girl makes when she doesn't get her way, Kate thought. "Of course I do. But the navigator's most important job is keeping the driver awake through conversation."

"I am on _vacation_, Castle. No one does _chores_ while on vacation," Kate informed him.

While pulling the car into traffic, Rick laughed sarcastically over her implication that talking to him a chore. But instead of calling her on it, he said, "Tough. You _have_ to talk to me. And I'll bet you a buck you might even enjoy it a little."

Kate scoffed over the likelihood of _that_ ever happening and then asked, "What will we talk about?"

"Whatever you want-"

"Good night, then," Kate quipped, cutting him off.

"…So long as you keep _talking_," he continued, finishing his sentence. A quick glance let him see her rolling her eyes and made him smile. "I know. You could tell me your deepest, darkest secrets, something that no one else knows about you."

"But if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" Sounding annoyed, she added, "And then it would be common knowledge when everyone read about it in your next Nikki Heat novel."

"If you told me something in _confidence_," he began, angrily indignant, but then he scoffed. "I don't even have to tell you, you _know_ better."

"Yeah, I know," Kate replied begrudgingly. If she told Castle something intensely personal- something that had nothing to do with her professional life- she had no question about whether or not she could trust Castle to keep it to himself. He wouldn't do something like that to her.

"Fine, if you _really_ don't want to tell me all your secrets," Castle fished pointedly and when Kate gave him a look, he sighed. "We could play a game?"

"I am _not_ playing strip poker with you, Castle," she teased.

"That would be a bit difficult to play in the car," he joked back, pointing out the obvious. Then he slanted a look at her and added, "But it is interesting to know that _that_ was the first place your mind went."

She sighed in annoyance, but was grateful for the driving that kept his eyes on the road and off her blushing face. "What game did you have in mind if not something wildly inappropriate?"

"We could take turns telling a truth or a lie about ourselves. And then the other person has to guess which one it is."

"You're still trying to get me to tell you my secrets, aren't you?"

"It doesn't have to be secrets, just facts that you think I wouldn't know about you," he pleaded.

"Couldn't we just listen to the radio?" she pleaded in turn.

"No, the radio puts me to sleep. So, unless you were planning on dying tonight when I crash the car in my sleep-"

"Fine!" she sapped. "I'm a classically trained opera singer."

Rick glanced at her in confusion, and then brightened when he realized she was actually going to play the game with him. Then he thought for a second, and guessed, "Lie."

Kate turned a smug grin on him and waited.

When he noted her expression, his mouth fell open. "It was truth?" And then his face turned petulant, "Why haven't you ever sung for me?"

Her voice turned husky when she teased, "Only _good_ little writer boys get to hear me sing."

"Did you ever sing for… Never mind, I don't want to know."

"No, I didn't," she answered him anyway. "I started taking lessons when I was young. I _loved_ singing. But after my mom died, and my dad became an alcoholic, I couldn't find a _reason_ to sing."

He looked over at her, at her expression- the smile trying to disguise the melancholy- and he wanted to say something heartfelt and sweet; anything to lift her sudden sadness. Instead he moved on, taking his turn in their game. "Alexis is actually the _second_ child I've made."

Kate instantly responded, knowing Castle as well as she did now. "Lie. There is no way you have another child and they are not part of your life."

"Well," Rick began, surprised and pleased. "Thank you for the vote of confidence on my personal character."

"There is no way you would miss out on the chance for another playmate," Kate clarified, teasing him a bit. "I see how much fun you have with Alexis."

"Too true," Rick agreed. "But that was the truth." When Kate looked at him skeptically, he continued. "Meredith had a miscarriage before Alexis was born. That might have been part of the reason we broke up."

"Oh," Kate said, unsure what else to add other than an awkward, "I'm sorry."

Rick smiled sardonically then added, "Well, that and her sleeping with her co-star. And her manager. And her agent…" When Kate laughed- as he'd intended- Rick smiled and added, "It's your turn."

"Hmm," Kate thought about what she could say and then brightened when she came up with something good. "I was engaged once."

Rick slanted a look at her and decided, "Lie."

Kate laughed and nodded. "I was asked. In college. But I said no, and I never saw him again."

"Why'd you say no?" Rick asked, working to keep his tone casual.

She laughed again, seeing through Castle's casual tone and wondering just how serious he was taking this information. "I was young and in love, but I wasn't stupid. I just didn't feel that… _thing_, you know? I couldn't picture myself starting a family with him, or sitting beside him, old and gray, with our grandkids. That's all."

"Has there ever been someone you _could_ picture yourself with?"

"That's not part of the game, Rick," Kate teased. "It's your turn."

"Fine," he griped. When he tried to think of the next thing to say, he didn't know whether to go serious or absurd. So, of course he went with the absurd. "We haven't had a pet in the Castle household since Alexis murdered our hamster when she was little."

Kate laughed loudly in shock and guessed, "Lie! That has to be a lie!"

Rick chuckled, but shook his head. "It's only partly a lie. She did kill Mr. Fluffy, but it was an accident. He was trying to wiggle his way out of her hands, and when I suggested she hold onto him tighter, she ended up suffocating him. It was very traumatic, there was crying for weeks… Alexis was fine, but I took it kinda hard."

Kate laughed again, and ended up marveling over how much fun she was having.

Seeming to have read her thoughts, Castle told her, "You owe me a dollar."

"Maybe I do," then her thoughts turned speculative. "But would you rather have one dollar or one secret?"

"You would actually tell me a secret? But would you make it worth my dollar?"

"Of course."

"Then a secret. Duh!"

Kate studied Rick's profile, barely visible in the darkened car. Every few seconds, a streetlamp would flash across his face, and Kate's heart sped up when she decided which secret she was going to tell him. She wasn't sure it was wise, or what it might mean for their partnership- or for their weekend alone in the Hamptons together- but when she made a decision, she stuck to it.

Rick couldn't see her face, but he could feel the serious tension in the car. He was almost worried she was going to tell him about some other trauma she had suffered in her life, but he didn't need to prompt her when she finally cleared her throat.

"I broke up with Tom specifically so I could come on this vacation with you this weekend," she confessed.

Rick took his eyes off the road for a long moment to stare at her face, surprised and incredulous. "You broke up with… for _me_?"

Kate thought for a moment, then answered truthfully, "Not for you, exactly. Though I guess that was part of it. I did it more for this weekend, and what it could mean. For us. For me." When Kate finally looked away from his face, she noticed the car was slowing down. Sure that they were nowhere near their destination, Kate looked around in confusion. When Rick pulled his car into a darkened strip mall parking lot and put the car in park, she asked, "What are we doing?"

He turned in his seat to face her, and said, "I wanted to look at your face, but I also didn't want to kill us, so we're stopping for a few minutes." He studied her beautiful face for a moment before he could speak. "Are you telling me… that after two years… you're finally willing to…"

"I'm not saying anything like that," Kate quickly piped in. "I'm just thinking it might be a good time to get to know you better. Personally, I mean. Which might be better facilitated by spending a weekend with you. Alone."

Rick wanted to reach out and take her hand, but he was afraid of the damage his fingers might suffer if he attempted it. Deciding the risk was worth the possible gain, he did it anyway, and was rewarded for it when Kate didn't pull away. She even held his hand tighter, and blushed when his thumb began moving back and forth over her skin. "You already know me, Kate," he told her, in an attempt not to deceive her. "I am exactly the same at home as I am at work. And at the precinct, and at a crime scene…"

Kate smiled and admitted, "I know. But you still have a lot to learn about me. I know I don't always make it easy for people to get close to me, and I wanted to change that. I think it's about time I let you get to know me. As Kate, not just Detective Beckett," She added, putting on serious voice when reciting her title.

"I look forward to getting to know Kate," he said warmly, then lifted her hand to his lips for a lingering kiss. When he finally pulled away from her soft skin, he smiled impishly and added, "Feel free to continue threatening me with your gun, though. It's very sexy when you do that."

Kate laughed, but told him, "You can count on it. I somehow doubt you'll suddenly become less annoying, simply because _you're_ getting to know _me_."

Rick laughed too, then, unperturbed by being labeled annoying- yet again. "Ready to hit the road again?"

"Let's do it," Kate replied, and then wanted to smack herself for phrasing it that way.

But Rick only smiled, and denied the opportunity to tease her, saying, "Too easy." He pulled the car back onto the road and they continued their drive to Rick's private beach house.

**A/N: I could not remember what that game was called- if it even has a name. I had no intention of posting today, seeing as I have seven papers to write for my classes this week- and I'm not exaggerating… if anything, I am under-exaggerating! But I sat down to work and this is what happened! Don't you love procrastinating?**

**I just had to add the bit about the hamster, because it did actually happen to me. In my defense, I was only two and my grandpa kept telling me to hold the wiggly little thing tighter so I wouldn't drop it! Then grandpa attempted hamster-CPR, but the poor thing was a goner. I should apologize to my uncle- whose only three years older than me, by the way- some day for killing his pet hamster.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rick and Kate had played their little game for well over half the ride when Castle finally suggested they stop. Not because he really wanted to stop- he was learning a lot of fascinating little facts about Kate, one of which being how well she could tell a lie with a perfect poker face- but after Kate yawned, widely, for the fifth time, Rick suggested she lay back and enjoy her well earned silence. The gesture wasn't wholly altruistic; when Kate curled her legs up into the seat, getting comfortable on her side, Castle could see the curve of her backside and nearly all of her very long legs. She never did change out of her pajama shorts, she simply threw a hoodie sweater on over the camisole, and clog-like slippers on her feet.

Rick spent a good while stealing glimpses of her legs as he continued to drive in silence. And as he drove, he found himself pondering whether her skin was as soft as it looked.

All too soon, the drive ended and Rick wondered how he could get Kate upstairs without waking her. He knew how hard she worked and he wanted to let her sleep if he could.

He parked the car, then eyed her body speculatively. She couldn't weigh much more than Alexis, could she?

Well- he smiled as he thought about it- he'd find out shortly.

~.~.~.~.~

Kate awoke when Rick's arms slid under her and carefully lifted her from the car. "Put me down, Castle," she snapped sleepily, even as her arms slid around his neck for security.

"Shut up," he said cheerfully. "Let me have my fun."

Too tired to shrug, Kate put her head down on his shoulder and when she signed contentedly, Rick could feel her warm breath on his neck; the sensation gave him chills.

"You just wanted to get your paws on my legs, didn't you Ricky?" she teased sleepily.

Rick chuckled and squeezed the hand cupped around her thigh. "And have your sexy little body pressed against mine," he confirmed happily, pulling her body more tightly to his own. "The thought _did_ cross my mind."

"If I weren't so very comfortable right now, I'd punch you for that, Castle."

He chuckled. "Well, prepare to be even more comfortable," he told her, setting her down in a cloud of pillows and down comforter. His first impulse was to help her get more comfortable, but the thought of undressing her- especially without her permission- struck him as inappropriate. He did remove her slippers though before he turned away to leave.

Kate sighed sleepily and quietly commanded, "Help me."

Rick turned back to her and hesitated. "Help you with what?"

"Undress me," she mumbled, then smiled when she saw his face. "My jacket," she clarified, holding her arms up lazily.

Rick approached and pulled her by her arms into a sitting position. He sat on the edge of her bed and his eyes locked on her bust as he slowly lowered the zipper of her jacket. He pushed the fabric back, his hands smoothing over her shoulders as he did so.

"I could get used to this," Kate mumbled. When Rick met her gaze in question, she added, "You doing what I tell you to? I could easily get used to it."

Rick shook his head, but smiled anyway. When he spoke, his voice was low. "When a beautiful woman commands me to undress her, you'll find that I'm usually happy to oblige."

Kate loved the way he made those little comments, not necessarily complimenting her, but calling her beautiful as if it were just an accepted fact. He never tried to flatter her like a lot of men had, but he made his opinion known, and Kate liked it.

When the jacket was gone, tossed to the floor, Castle reached around her- invading her personal space, though she didn't complain- to pull down the bed covers. She slid back into place and Rick stood, pulling the blankets from under her and covering her. He sat back down and leaned over her as he tucked her in.

He was prepared to stand up and walk away, but before Rick could even straighten up, Kate's hands closed on the lapels of his jacket and held him in place.

"When you tuck a girl into bed, don't you typically give her a goodnight kiss, too?" she asked, her voice husky and quiet.

"But the princess is already awake," Rick teased. "Doesn't a kiss usually serve to wake her?" He didn't exactly know why he was arguing against kissing her, except that he was discovering how much fun it was to tease her. Plus, he didn't think he'd be able to stop at just one kiss and he didn't want to move too quickly into a physical relationship with Kate; she was too important to him to just rush into something they might not be ready for.

"Maybe your kiss is the opposite. Maybe it'll put me to sleep instead," she joked.

"Honey, if I were to kiss you like I meant it, you'd be awake for a week," he replied, full of himself.

Kate smiled. "Then don't mean it," she murmured and then pulled on Rick's jacket.

"What does that even mean…" he wondered aloud, but forgot the question the minute her mouth touched his.

Her lips were soft and malleable, the perfect shape for his own. He wanted to devour her mouth, but he knew if he took anything more than this simple, touching kiss, he'd break. He wanted to touch his tongue to her lower lip- just to see for himself if she tasted as good as she smelled. But he knew he didn't have the will power at the moment. He pulled away and studied Kate's face instead.

Her eyes closed and as her mouth curved into a small, sleepy smile, Kate murmured, "You _do_ have magic powers. I'm already half asleep."

Rick couldn't answer though. Too many thoughts- and at the same time, none at all- were buzzing though his head. He studied her face a moment longer, reaching up to brush a lock of her hair off her forehead. He finally kissed her cheekbone, then stood up and walked away. It might have been one of the most difficult things he'd ever done, but he just managed, closing her bedroom door softly behind him.

**A/N: I was asked why this was marked as 'complete' when it's obviously not, and I guess I should explain. I had intended this to be a one-shot – no longer than a single chapter- but every time I think about it, something new is just begging me to be written down! I have no plan or direction for this piece, but I'm just going to keep adding to it until I run out of ideas; which is why I haven't changed the 'complete' status- hopefully when the ideas do run out, no one will be surprised. These last two chapters were what happened when I was supposed to be writing essays for school. I just love procrastinating! I get some of my best ideas when I know I'm supposed to be working on something 'more important.'**

**This one's short-ish, but it was a good place to end the chapter. When you see the next one, I guess you'll see why. Next one is almost done!**

**Thank you for all the reviews, by the way! Once school's over for the winter, I'll get back to everyone who reviewed and thank you personally!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Small language warning; I use a bad word flippantly in this one. Oooooo ;-) Although, this one gets a little silly; I assume a lot about Kate's personality when she's not at work, so she may not seem totally true to character, but I'm hoping it's at least believable. And FINE! I changed the status from complete. Mostly just 'cause I'll be changing the rating, and I figured that while I was changing one, I might as well change the other.**

When Kate awoke the next morning, she was warm and comfortable and strangely anxious. But she was eager to start her day, knowing she'd spend the whole weekend with Rick.

She thought she knew which door led to the rest of the house, so upon investigating the other two doors in her room, Kate found a walk-in closet- her cases already on racks, and open inside- and a private bathroom.

Smiling happily, Kate quickly showered and dressed, in a simple t-shirt and shorts. _No need to dress up_, she mused, and now that she knew how much Castle liked to stare at her legs, she figured she could make it work for her. She didn't think there were any special plans for the day, either, so she picked a book from the stocked shelf in the corner and sat back on her bed to read for a while. She was used to early hours, so even on her days off she tended to be up with the sun. And Kate didn't think Rick would even notice if she spent an hour or so reading.

But Kate hadn't even opened her book before a knock on her door made her gasp, and her heart pick up speed.

"Come in," she called, a bit breathlessly.

Rick opened the door, peeked his head inside and said, "I'm about to make breakfast. I just wanted to see if you were hungry?"

"Will there be coffee?" she asked, as if her acceptance depended upon this one small fact.

He straightened, stepping into the room a bit when he noted her state of dress. "Of course," he replied, the 'duh' left unspoken, but definitely there in tone.

"And _you're_ cooking?" she confirmed.

"Yes," he replied hesitantly.

She could have teased him about his cooking, but she knew from experience he was a good cook. So she replied, "Fantastic. Count me in."

Rick smiled, pleased. He began to turn back toward the door and asked, "I'll see you down stairs in a minute then?"

"No," Kate replied, surprising him. He took a step back toward her, but Kate spoke before he could ask her to explain. "Come here."

There must have been something in her tone because Castle was suddenly on guard. "Where?" he asked.

Kate moved to stand on her knees on the edge of the bed and beckoned Castle over with her hand, "Over here."

He approached cautiously and asked, "What?"

"Come here." He still took his time and Kate, impatient, pointed down to the floor directly in front of her. "Come and stand, right here."

"Why?" he hesitated a foot in front of her.

Kate laughed when she understood his hesitation. "I'm not going to hurt you, Castle." When he only inched closer, she shook her head and teased, "You are _such_ a little girl sometimes."

The look of outrage on his face was so comical, Kate laughed again. Rick narrowed his eyes on her, the informed her, "I'm still bigger than _you_!" And he launched his body forward, careful of her bent legs, but landing directly on top of her across the big bed.

Kate screeched on the way down, but smiled up at him, unperturbed, and said, "You may be bigger than me, but I know how to handle big, bad men like you."

"Is that so?" Rick asked just before he leaned in to put his lips on the soft skin of her neck, just below her ear. At the same time, he dug his thumbs into her ribs, making her squirm and laugh. When he stopped, he murmured, "Thank you for calling me a big, bad man." And then he began skating his lips over her skin. He was surprised and pleased- and a little turned on- when she wrapped her leg around his thigh.

Prior to that, Rick had been teasing, but when Kate's hands moved to his chest, he let his body press down on hers. He moved to kiss her jaw, her cheek, the corner of her mouth…

Kate suddenly pushed, using her leg around his to flip him onto his back. She rolled with him, and landed on top of him, her forearm across his upper chest in a hold. She laughed when she looked down and saw his shocked expression. "I told you I could handle you, Ricky."

With her legs on either side of his waist, Castle had no where to put his hands but on her upper thighs… Right? And when she teased him like that, totally sure of herself and her abilities, he thought she'd never been sexier. His hands slid up her thighs and grasped her hips. "Now which one of us is doing the handling again?" he asked, squeezing his hands around her hips.

Kate leaned closer over him, her forearm moving up to press against the base of his neck. "I could have you unconscious inside a minute, Castle," she threatened.

"I usually like it to last a little longer than that," Castle teased, intentionally misinterpreting her _methods_ of rendering him unconscious. "But whatever floats your boat," he added, his hands continuing to travel.

"Get your hands off my ass, Rick," Kate snapped.

Rick laughed, though he did as she asked… kind of; his hands slip up to her back, under her top.

Kate sighed in annoyance and sat up, slapping his hands away. She climbed off of him and began shoving until she had him standing beside the bed in the position she had originally wanted him in.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, when his back was turned to her and her hands were on his shoulders. "Am I getting a massage? We could have stayed in bed for that."

"Ready?" Kate asked, ignoring his questions.

"For wh-"

There was sudden movement, a strong pressure on his shoulders, and Kate was suddenly wrapped around him- her legs around his waist and her arms locked around his neck. Though Rick staggered forward under the sudden movement, her slight weight was easy to carry.

"And you called _me_ a child!" Rick teased, laughing.

Kate managed to kick his rear end with her foot and raised her arm to point upward and onward as in a charge. "To the kitchen!" she commanded.

Rick shook his head at her, but laughed as well. He never would have pegged Kate as the type of woman who would allow a man to give her a piggy back ride, much less demand one. But Rick was enjoying this glimpse into a new side of her personality and he found himself becoming increasingly enamored. Rick hopped a little, hiking her up higher on his back, and wrapping his arms around her legs to hold her up.

"Yes, my lady," he joked back. "To the kitchen we ride!" And they made their way to the kitchen, Rick carrying Kate upon his back, and only groaning a _little_ when descending the three stairs into the kitchen.

"Shut up!" she teased. "My trusty steed does not groan when being ridden upon!"

Instead of one of the myriad innuendoes he could have spoken, he teased, "He does when hefting Amazon princesses down a flight of stairs."

Kate didn't quibble about the 'hefting' comment- or the fact that the so called 'flight of stairs' was only three steps- but laughed and leaned in to kiss his neck.

Surprised, Castle tried to sound casual when he asked, "What was that for?"

"I regretted it the instant those words passed my lips," Kate explained, a smile in her voice. "I just wanted to thank you for not taking it where you probably wanted to."

Rick approached the island bar, pulling out one of the high stools beside it. He turned his back to the chair and set Kate down gently. But instead of stepping away, Rick turned again, within the V of Kate's legs and put his hands on her knees. "I don't _always_ have to make innuendoes," he informed her, his voice low. "And when you make it so easy, there's no challenge; it's hardly even _fun_." He lifted his hand to rest on her neck, his thumb brushing over her jaw. "Although, it is fun to see you blush sometimes." When the rosy color stained her cheeks, Rick smiled. Kate smiled softly back. Rick's grasp tightened around the back of her neck, and when he drew infinitesimally closer, she closed her eyes.

The kiss was surprising for both of them. It was soft and sweet and made her melt against him, but Kate had always assumed that when she finally allowed Castle to kiss her, he'd be all over her in seconds. And Rick had always imagined that Kate- being the strong, confident woman he knew her to be- would go after what she wanted with fiery passion. But here she was, allowing _him_ to be the aggressive one… and he found he liked it, even more than the Kate of his fantasies. When her body melted into his, he sank into the kiss and when his tongue touched her lips, she opened for him, making him groan.

After a long moment, Castle pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. "You have a very talented tongue, Detective."

Kate smiled wickedly and informed him, "You haven't even begun to see _half_ of my talents, Castle."

He groaned again and moved to kiss her, but she pulled away. "You promised me breakfast," she reminded him.

"Can't we have just a little more desert first?" he pleaded.

"You'll ruin your appetite," she argued quietly, though she closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss.

"Never gonna happen," he informed her. "The more I get of you, the more I want."

"Mmm," she mumbled, but didn't say anything else as his mouth closed over hers again.

And this kiss was much closer to what each of them had imagined; the fire and the urgency of it nearly consuming them both.

When Kate finally pulled away, she was breathing heavily and she knew that if she didn't stop this, they'd end up… she couldn't think about it at the moment, or she might not be able to stop herself. Trying to distract him with their game, Kate quietly murmured, "I absolutely hated that."

It took Rick a long, confused moment to recall their 'truth or lie' game and without any other hesitation, he asserted, "Lie."

She smiled her affirmation. He moved to kiss her again, but she held him back, finally able to think for a minute and then groaned as if in pain. She pleaded, "Forget the breakfast, as least give me the coffee you promised."

Her stomach chose just that moment to rumble loudly and made Rick laugh. "Yes, milady."

Rick moved around the island then, into the center of the kitchen and began preparing their breakfast, though the first thing he did was prepare the coffee maker. Kate watched him as me moved around the large space, totally sure of himself as he began making French toast and scrambled eggs. The thought randomly struck her that someone like Rick would be perfect for her; she didn't think she'd ever be the type of wife who would be home every night to prepare dinner for a husband and kids, so someone like Castle, who could fend for himself, would be perfect for her.

Rick could actually feel her watching him, so he turned his head and smiled at her. That serious look on her face almost had him worried, until she smiled back. The expression even lit up her eyes, which pleased him; those were not the eyes of a woman who was regretting something she'd just done.

Though, just to be safe, he wanted to keep her lighthearted and in the moment, so he continued their game. "I've never had any other woman up here," he informed her, even as he continued shifting bits of food in pans.

"Lie," Kate replied, rolling her eyes. She knew for a fact he'd invited Gina up here, which told her Rick wasn't _that_ protective of his beach house sanctuary.

But Rick smiled mysteriously, and simply said, "I'll never tell."

The food close to done, Rick poured two fresh cups of coffee and set them on the bar beside Kate. Then he prepared two plates and set them on the bar, joining Kate when everything was ready.

Kate's first sip of coffee was enough to have her closing her eyes and sighing in pleasure. Her first bite of syrupy toast had her humming blissfully.

Suddenly, Rick's fork clattered against his plate when he dropped it, and he threatened, "If you keep making those noises over _food_… I'm taking it away from you!"

Surprised and annoyed, Kate almost made an angry retort before she realized the problem.

But when Rick noted her impish smile, he snapped, "Don't even think about it!"

She batter her eye lashes innocently and simpered, "What ever could you mean?"

Rick just narrowed his eyes on her and watched as she smiled. Just when he thought she was about to turn back to her breakfast, his hand shot up, around the back of her neck. He barely noted her surprise when he pulled her forward and crushed his lips against hers. He could taste the syrup on her lips, and it made him groan, much the same way Kate had after her first bite of toast.

As suddenly as he had grabbed her, he released her and Kate fell back against her chair. "If that's how you're gonna react, maybe I should annoy you more often," she reasoned, in a dazed sort of voice.

"Just finish your breakfast," Castle snapped, his voice strained.

And Kate actually obeyed, smiling at her plate the whole time.

**A/N: Wow, that was a long one! (And if you totally just thought 'that's what she said' when you read that, you and I have the same perverted sense of humor! Yay us! ;-D ). This scene just did not want to end! But I had fun writing it!**


	6. Chapter 6

They finished their breakfast in silence… mostly. Kate made small noises of pleasure every so often, just to tease Rick, while he shifted in his chair uncomfortably. But other than that, they ate quietly.

"So," Kate finally broke the silence, her tummy now full. "What's the plan?"

"What plan?" Rick snapped, though he tried to keep his tone light. It wasn't Kate's fault… no, wait, it _was_ Kate's fault he couldn't sit comfortably and just enjoy his stupid breakfast. Those sexy little noises she made were driving him crazy. The worst part was that he could imagine her making those noises as he- _Shoot_, he thought, breaking off _that_ train of thought just when Kate started talking.

"The plan," she reiterated pointedly. "You know, for the day?"

Rick smiled when he discovered a way to drive her crazy in turn. "This is a _vacation_, Kate," he informed her. "There is no _plan_."

She gave him an annoyed look. "You must have _some_ idea of what we're doing today."

Rick smirked. "Yes, I have some ideas. But there's no _plan_. Does that bother you, Miss Type-A?"

"Nothing bad ever came from having a _plan_, Castle," she snapped.

His gaze shifted off to middle space, staring at nothing, and he mused, "Unless you were planning to rob a bank." He suddenly perked up and smiled at Kate excitedly, "Oo, or murder someone. I could totally see someone like you with all these detailed plans, getting ready to murder some-" He finally noted Kate's expression and guessed- "Annoying author?"

Kate simply smiled in acknowledgement, and then hopped down from her stool. She grabbed hers and Rick's empty plates and took the dishes to the sink as she said, "Fine. There's no plan. I can live with that. So long as you're prepared to entertain me for three… long… days." She turned from rinsing the dishes, noted his impish expression and quickly added, "_Outside_ the bedroom." When his smirk just widened, Kate snapped, "Not involving sex!"

"Joy kill," he grumbled, still smiling regardless.

Kate grabbed a towel to dry her hands, and leaned her elbows on the counter, facing Rick. "So, you want our weekend to be totally spontaneous," Kate said, trying to understand Rick's thinking. "Yet you want to make _plans_ to have sex. That seems a little backward to me."

Rick was just able to control the stuttering he felt coming on, and said, "Just as long as it's not… _not_ an option." He grimaced over his 'eloquence' there, and added, "You know what I mean?"

"I had no _plans_ to sleep with you this weekend," she told him, her tone light. "In fact, I do believe you made a promise to that effect when you invited me here." Kate smiled then and concluded, "But I know how to be spontaneous when I'm feeling… _spontaneous_."

"So are you going to sleep with me or not?" Rick asked bluntly.

She gave him her patented 'Beckett glare' before tossing the hand towel into his face.

When he pulled the towel away he was smiling. _Well, she didn't say no_, he thought, encouraged by that small omission. "Go put some shoes on," he told her. Rick noted her narrowed eyes, and saw her about to object to being told what to do, so he added, "Unless you prefer walking on the beach barefoot."

She moved around the counter and confirmed, "Barefoot."

"All right, then." Rick slid from his stool and when he stood beside Kate, he held out his hand to her. Kate simply stared down at his hand skeptically for a long moment before slowly looking up to meet his gaze. "Oh, come on," he complained. "You _kissed_ me. Holding hands how would practically be redundant."

Kate finally smiled, taking his hand. "You are _so_ easy, Ricky," she teased as they turned and headed to the back door.

He opened the door for her and confirmed, "Yes. Yes I am." They stepped off the porch, directly onto the beach. His backyard opened directly to the surf and Kate noted a jacuzzi off to one side of his partially fenced off, private beach. "Feel free to test that theory any time, though."

She bumped into his shoulder as they walked down to the surf and said, "I meant, you're so easy to tease."

"Maybe you're just a really good tease." Rick frowned then and mused aloud, "I didn't mean that to sound so… _mean_."

"I like to tease you," Kate admitted, watching as a wave rolled up to splash their feet.

"Truth," Castle said, in that way continuing their game.

"You make it so easy, though." She admitted, smiling up at him. "I don't even have to _try_ sometimes and I can get to you."

"It's not my fault!" he complained. "It's that sexy voice you use, and that perfect little mouth of yours." He stared off into the sky and added, "The way your eyes get all smoky…"

Kate was a little confused now; the words he said were very nice, but even as he complimented her, his tone was a complaint. "Thanks, I think," she laughed.

"You drive me crazy," he admitted, smiling.

"Truth," Kate replied.

Rick stopped walking and pulled Kate by the hand he still held until she was facing him. "You are not the first beautiful woman I've been close to- I've been with plenty of women who would bring a lesser man to his knees. But you… you look at me with those smoky eyes, and your voice gets all soft, and I… I fall apart. I can't remember any of my witty comebacks or even come up with a teasing retort. But I can imagine leaning in and kissing you and then I just want to stay quiet so the moment will last longer."

"Every time we had one of those moments, I hoped you'd kiss me," Kate confessed quietly. "The world would fall away and even the fact that we might be in the precinct wouldn't matter to me. I would have let you kiss me, every time."

Rick just stood there- staring into her eyes- floored by her admission. Finally, he was able to ask, "Really?"

Kate smiled her teasing smile and told him, "You're supposed to guess."

Rick studied her face, trying to recall the game while she looked at him like that. Then he supposed that the best way to test a hypothesis was through practical application. So he moved closer and slipped his hands around her waist. As his face drew nearer hers, Kate's eyes slid closed. Her arms moved up around his neck, and she relaxed into him, allowing his hands and his body to support her. His mouth came down on hers, harder than ever before, and Kate moaned; it was almost the same noise she'd made at breakfast, but this sound had an edge of excitement to it, too. Rick's hand slid to her lower back, pulling her hips against him, and Kate arched her body into his, letting herself get bent backward by Rick's big body towering over her. Rick broke away from her mouth only long enough to gasp, "Truth," before devouring her mouth again. Kate might have let him take her to the sand then, just to feel the weight of his body on hers, but at that moment, a large wave swept up the beach and splashed up their legs. Kate jumped in surprise, then stood back to assess the damage, laughing. The hems of Rick's shorts were soaked, and her own legs were drenched, though her tiny shorts were only spotted with drops of water.

"Maybe we should go back and get bathing suits," Rick suggested, his voice still low with emotion.

"Still trying to get me into a bikini, Castle?" she teased.

"Unless you prefer skinny dipping," he retorted.

She turned and headed back toward Castle's beach house, knowing he'd follow. "I'd rather take my chances with the bikini," she said, reaching out and taking his hand, lacing her fingers through his as they walked. "You may not be able to handle the sight of me naked, frolicking in the ocean."

"If it's all the same to you, I'll take my chances skinny dipping. And since when do you _frolic_?"

"I frolic," Kate retorted defensively. "I've even been known to skip on occasion."

"Yeah, when you were _nine_," Rick agreed sarcastically. Then he thought for a moment, recalling a fond memory and told Kate, "The last time I skipped was a month ago."

Kate looked stunned, but said, "Truth?" She knew Rick was an overgrown child sometimes, but to hear he had just gone skipping for no apparent reason, Kate was actually surprised.

Rick laughed at her expression and replied, "Yeah. Alexis and I went window shopping together- a daddy/daughter day- and we ended up skipping from shop to shop."

"That's sweet," Kate admitted. And then she got nervous. It was her turn in their game and she knew the fact she wanted to give- to prepare Castle for when he saw her in a swim suit- but she wanted to keep that part of her life a secret for just a little while longer. Not many people knew about her wild past and she didn't want Castle to think differently of her because of it. _Although_, she mused, _knowing Castle, he'd probably just think it's hot_. So she took a deep breath and told him, "I have tattoos."

"Lie," Rick said, rather quickly, though he cast her a speculative look.

She figured show and tell would convince him better than trying to argue with him, so she stopped walking, pulled her hand from his grasp and turned her back on him. With one hand, she lifted her shirt a little in the back, while the other hand pushed down on the waistband of her shorts. Though Rick was momentarily distracted by the sexy little dimples in her lower back, his eyes stuck on the pink heart right below the left dimple. No bigger than two inches square at the most, Rick reached out to touch the small tattoo with his fingertips as he leaned closer to read the cursive script inside the little heart.

"_All you need is love_?" Rick asked and stood straight again when Kate turned back to face him.

"My mom loved the Beatles," Kate explained sheepishly. "And she believed that as long as _someone_ on this planet loves you, you're never truly alone."

"That's sweet," he said, echoing her words from earlier. And Kate smiled, relieved that he seemed to like the heart.

"Wait a minute," Rick suddenly said. "You said tattoos- plural."

"Very few men get to see the rest of my tattoos, Ricky," she teased him, turning and walking the last few feet to the beach house.

Rick simply smiled, watching her back side as she climbed the porch steps up to the house. He wondered how he was going to make it through the weekend- and keep his hands to himself- if Kate insisted upon teasing him mercilessly?

**A/N: Oh, hey, Pretend the walk on the beach actually lasted longer than it seems. It was supposed to be the rest of the morning, or thereabouts, but it totally seems to have been five minutes, doesn't it? Maybe they were speed walking **** 'cause that's romantic *sarcasm.***

**Does anyone have ideas for other tattoos? I think I have some, but what would YOU like to see on Kate? And should Castle have a tattoo also? Because I know Nathan does, so it would only make sense for Castle to have the same one.**

**This chapter totally made me wonder, does the ocean behave differently on the east coast than it does on the west? Does that question seem really ignorant? In my defense, I only know the Pacific! I've never seen the Atlantic!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is dedicated to ArtemisBeloved. Thank you so much!**

Inside the house, Rick looked around for Kate but didn't see where she'd managed to slink off to. He scanned the kitchen, and then walked toward the den, but there was no sign of his pretty detective.

"Kate?" He finally called. After a long pause when there was no still response, he headed toward the living room and past that, the bedrooms and screamed like a little girl when something collided with the back of him. Kate was wrapped around him- again- and when she laughed at his high pitched scream, he snapped, "What _are_ you, half monkey?"

Kate's laugh turned husky and she put her lips right on Castle's earlobe when she softly said, "Maybe I just like having my legs wrapped around you." The husky laugh continued when she saw him swallow hard, and she took his earlobe into her mouth.

Castle reached for her and pulled Kate around his body, holding her in front of him now. He took two steps and pressed Kate back against a conveniently located wall. "Be careful, little girl," he warned her, his voice low. "You're gonna get yourself in trouble one of these days."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and gave him a smoky look. "You promise?"

Rick narrowed his eyes on her and couldn't resist any longer; he pressed her body between the wall and his own and brought his lips crashing down on her mouth.

Kate's hands shoved though his hair, clutching him and pulling him even closer. She spent a long, fiery moment fighting him for dominance of their kiss and when she feared she was about to lose- however happily- she fisted her hands in his hair and pulled him away. "I'm not a little girl," she told him and then congratulated herself on how even her voice sounded, though her insides were trembling. "I could take you _down_, Castle."

"Your skinny little ass barely fills my hands." Rick's voice rumbled as he emphasized his point by squeezing said body part and hiking her higher up the wall. "You weight as much as a teenage girl. And you made me tuck you into bed last night. Some part of you at least is still a child," he accused in a superior tone. Rick knew he acted like a child half the time, so he was glad to see that Kate could be childish too when the mood struck. Was there _any_ way in which they were incompatible, he wondered? He suspected the answer to that was a resounding 'No!'

"I'm not _that_ skinny," Kate said defensively, sensitive- as any woman- to disparaging comments about her body.

Rick laughed and squeezed her skinny rear end again. "I wasn't complaining."

Kate pursed her lips. "Size notwithstanding, I could still kick your ass, any day."

His lips formed the word, "Ooo," though no sound came out. He gave her a smoky look of his own and teased her, "I love it when you talk dirty."

"Truth," she said, rolling her eyes. "Although, I don't talk dirty half as often as you misinterpret me that way."

He smiled and asked, "Aren't innuendoes fun like that?"

"Fun," Kate seemingly agreed. Then added, "Annoying. Same difference."

"Just admit it," he told her, drawing close again. "You like my sense of humor."

She narrowed her eyes, staring down at his lips and murmured, "I admit _nothing_," before taking his mouth in a searing kiss.

Rick's hands moved up her body, grasping her ribs. Kate broke away, gasping, when his thumbs brushed over the bottom curve of her breasts. Rick looked into her eyes and he could see her desire burning there. She was ready, he could see it, but there was no hint of any deeper emotion. She was excited, turned on, but there was no love there… _yet_. And he wanted her love. When he looked into her eyes, the first time they were together, he wanted to see her love for him burning there alongside the lust. He also had the suspicion that she would sleep with him during their weekend, but talk herself out anything more if she wasn't in love with him. So Rick found what little strength he had- gathered up all his short supply of self-restraint- and laughed. He was momentarily proud, too, when the sound was steady and sexy.

"If you're trying to distract me, so I'll forget about the bikini, it won't work." He stepped away from the wall and let Kate slip gently to the floor. He kissed her lightly one last time and then pushed her toward the bedrooms. "Let's go get changed. I'll meet you out on the beach."

Kate stood in her open bedroom doorway and stared at Rick's closed door. _What the heck_? She wondered. _He's been making flirty comments for years, but when I finally…_

Maybe he was so used to being rebuffed that he didn't want to push his luck now?

_I'll just have to be more obvious next time_, she shrugged and turned into her room to go change.

**A/N: I just had to share this 'cause I thought it was interesting; I write out my stories by hand before I type them up, and as I was writing this and the next chapter, I kept writing Hate in stead of Kate… weird, huh? I did that a couple times. Wonder what that could mean…? I mean, I love Kate! *shrugs***

**Yeah, I know this one is short, but I wanted to post it. I've already written the next part, but it still needs editing… majorly.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Kate, you're stalling," the detective accused her reflection, exasperated with herself. She studied the vision in the mirror and knew that _it_ was the reason she was hesitating. The Kate of almost a decade ago would have found her reflection 'awesome!' or even 'totally hot!' But the Kate of today wondered what she'd ever been thinking and was bemoaning the fact that she hadn't gone bathing suit shopping in several years now. She was surprised this one had even held on as long as it did, considering all the metal pieces.

The bikini was made to look like black leather, but was much stretchier than anything that was not spandex. The wide bands around her ribs and her hips, as well as the edges of the triangle cups, were studded with little silver pyramids. The long sleeve, black fishnet dress she wore over the suit hid absolutely nothing, but at least gave her the illusion of cover.

Kate tried to be objective as she studied her reflection and a slow smile transformed her worried face. She may not have the same taste in clothes that she used to, but the look was still great on her. She quickly pulled her hair into a high ponytail and darkened the make up around her eyes. Even if she did go in the water, the smoky cosmetics added to the look and she thought Castle would be impressed… or scared, and Kate would be happy with either scenario. When she finally headed outside, she was walking the way her modeling coach- a hundred years ago- had taught her and wearing the sexy/pouty/pissed look that she'd been too young back then to pull of convincingly.

Castle was standing in the water, facing the shore and watching for Kate. And all her efforts paid off when she saw him freeze at the sight of her- at the same time that a large wave struck the backs of his legs and sent him stumbling forward; he was completely distracted by the vision of her in a swim suit.

She sauntered over to the chairs that Rick had set up near the water, and waved to him. Then she turned away, while Rick stood and watched the way her body arched and moved as she pulled off the cover-up and dropped it on the foot of her long chair. She sat and grabbed the bottle of sun block Rick had been thoughtful enough to provide. And then, Rick just stood there staring even longer as she began rubbing the thick lotion into her skin. When the front of her body was covered, Kate looked up and even from several yards away, Rick could see her smile. She held up one hand and beckoned him over with a single crooked finger. Rick wondered if there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her when Kate smiled at him like that. The thought _almost_ made him uncomfortable, but he reassured himself that there was no reason to let _her_ know just how tightly she already had him wrapped around her finger. However, when Rick moved toward her, Kate's smug smile told him she might already know.

So Rick did what he was good at and made a joke- however ill-conceived. In a deep, creepy voice he said, "It puts the lotion on its skin."

Kate gave him an incredulous look of disgust. Rolling her eyes, she said, "In that scenario, I'm the chubby girl at the bottom of a well, and you're the serial killer transvestite planning on making a suit out of my skin. And we both know at least one of those things isn't true."

"I know," Rick said, sitting on the end of his chair, facing her. "The transvestite look does _not_ work for me. I wore a dress once, on a dare… it was _not_ a pretty sight. Although, the breeze felt nice on my-"

"Castle!" Kate shook her head at him as she gave him a weird look, like someone who was trying to figure out whether that sheep really had two heads, or if the extra one had been added by some 'clever' farmer. Finally, she gave up, plucked Rick's sunglasses off the table between them and sat back in her chair. "And here I was, about to offer you the opportunity you've been panting for since you invited me on this vacation." To clarify her point, she held up the bottle of sun block and tipped it mockingly back and forth in his face. "But you totally killed the mood there, Ricky," she added, tossing the bottle to the foot of her chair.

Then she watched warily as Castle stood and moved to sit on _her_ chair, facing her. The joking mood fell away as he lifted his hands to gently remove the sunglasses from her face. Kate watched his eyes, hypnotized by his gaze, as he reached around her, pulling the back of her chair forward. Her breathing sped up when she glanced down and saw how close her breasts were to his bare chest.

Kate finally noticed how strong he must be to have such a hard looking body. In that moment, she recalled how often she seemed to be carrying her this weekend- and how easily he had accomplished the feat.

Before she could react to his nearness- apart from accelerated breathing and heart rates- Rick was lowering the seat back and Kate was moving away from him. The chair never stopped until Kate was flat on her back, staring up at Rick and vaguely noticing how much her chest seemed to be moving, especially once Castle's gaze stuck there.

"Turn over," he told her, his voice low.

Feeling a bit of wickedness bubble up, she said coquettishly, "Yes, Ricky," before rolling onto her front.

Kate heard him groan and say, "I could get used to hearing you say that."

Laughing huskily, she assured him, "I'll be sure not to say it too often then." Kate could picture him shaking his head at her, but all she could see from her new vantage point were Rick's knees and a hand as he reached to put the sun block on the table.

Before she could even protest, the thick ties of Kate's suit were suddenly unraveled and Rick was saying- quiet disingenuously, Kate thought- "Oops!"

Kate gasped, shocked and outraged, like she was supposed to, but seconds later was reaching for the tie behind her neck and informing him, "You missed one."

Kate thought she heard him gasp then, but it could have been the wind…

"You should arrest me for negligence," he teased, slowly beginning to rub lotion into Kate's skin. It was feeling more like a massage than a sun block-assist, though Kate was not stupid enough to complain.

"You just want me to cuff you, don't you Ricky?" Kate teased lazily, enjoying the feel of his hands on her skin.

"Only if you promise to be gentle with me, Katie," he teased right back.

"Mmm," she mumbled indistinctly on a sigh. Stretching her arms above her head, Kate readjusted, settling in to relax and enjoy Castle's attentions. He really did have a very soft touch.

Rick's hands spread out on her back then, his fingertips sweeping down along her sides and Kate shivered in pleasure. On a second pass, his touch swept even lower and Kate was forcefully reminded that she was essentially topless under Rick's hands. Kate took a sharp intake of breath when a single fingertip traced the outermost curve of her left breast.

"What's this?" Rick murmured.

No matter how frustrated, aggravated, annoyed, irritated… or aroused Rick made her, Kate _loved_ the myriad opportunities he afforded her to tease him. She couldn't even remember another guy who made her laugh as much as Rick did- even if she did hide the laughter from him most of the time. So now, Kate smiled and teased him, "If you don't know by now, you've been doing something wrong all these years." She heard him chuckle and he began tracing a very specific pattern over her ribs, sometimes looping up onto her breast. Pulling herself together, Kate sighed sadly, adding, "And I was really hoping you would know what you were doing when we finally…"

Rick lightly slapped her rear end to quiet her, but he wasn't prepared for the death- glare she gave him when her head snapped up because of it. "Put you head back down," he told her. "It didn't hurt."

"I'll hurt you if you do it again," Kate threatened even as she did as he told her and put her head back down on the chair.

"I'm sorry; did you just say you want me to do it again?" Rick teased.

"Just try it, Ricky," she said in a dangerous voice. "I dare you."

He chuckled, but instead of pushing his luck and possibly ending up missing his favorite hand, he gently squeezed her rear end. "I love it when you threaten me."

"Truth," Kate muttered, and Rick thought he saw her eyes rolling.

"But you're not going to distract me." The hand that wasn't on her butt went back to her ribs to trace the pattern there again. "What is this lovely bit of ink?" He moved then and Kate could feel his breath on her ear as he whispered, "And yes, I do know what a breast looks like- from all angles- and I know exactly what to do with them." His tongue touched the curve of her ear for the briefest moment and suddenly he was gone.

Kate was tempted to turn over and look up at him- maybe pull him down to kiss her- but she remembered just in time that even though it seemed like she was alone in her own little world with Castle, there were in fact other people on the beach. She had to clear her throat before she could say, "It's a rose."

Rick's hands were removed from her body and she heard him take a deep, calming breath. Kate was satisfied to note that when he spoke, there was definitely a bit of strain in his voice, even though he tried to sound normal and unaffected by their nearness and conversation. "Yes, I can see that it's a rose, but what does it mean? What does it symbolize?"

"Maybe it's just a rose," Kate said, becoming uncomfortable. She really didn't want to let him know- just yet- what it did stand for. "Maybe I just like roses."

Rick pulled his chair closer to hers, slid back over to it and relaxed in his seat. Kate could see his face now as he scrutinized her. "We both know you don't do anything without meaning. Especially permanently marking your body. It has to mean _something_ to you to be important enough to etch into your skin." He gave her a smug look then, daring her to contradict him.

But Kate knew it was true. She sighed and Rick barely heard her mumble something as she closed her eyes in annoyance.

"What was that?" Rick asked, and then frowned when Kate awkwardly reached behind her back and began tying her top back in place.

When everything was properly rearranged, Kate sat up and snapped, "'A Rose For Everafter'!"

"What does my book…" He began confused, until understanding lit his face with a smile. "No!" he gasped delightedly.

"It was the first book of yours I ever read," Kate confessed, though she definitely did not seem happy about having to admit it. "And after my mother died, it was the book I read the most- to help me just escape my life for an hour or so."

"Oh. Wow." Rick wasn't sure- for once- what else to say, but he did know he wanted to lift her sudden sad mood. So he did what he was best at and teased her. "So, where are your other tattoos?"

She glared at him and asked, "What makes you think there are more?"

"This morning you said 'the rest of my tattoos'- plural. Meaning there are more than just those two."

Holding onto her annoyed mood, she said, "You'll have to get me naked to see them. And at the moment, I don't think your chances of that are very good."

Rick smiled happily at her anyway, and watched as she stood and walked down to the water. Her graceful, willowy silhouette gradually began to disappear as she waded into the water up to her waist. And Rick enjoyed the beauty of her movements as she raised her arms and dove under the next wave that approached. He held his breath as he waited for her to reappear above the waves, and when he saw her again, swimming farther away from the shore, Rick decided she looked lonely out there in the ocean by herself. Rick stood and jogged into the water, hurrying to catch up with her.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I couldn't help adding that movie reference in the last chapter and I had forgotten to point it out then. Silence of the Lambs; good- creepy- movie! The first few times I saw the movie, I had no idea what the killer was after, but after reading the book, it all became clear. If you like creepy books/movies like that, which I do. :-D **

**Oh, I also wanted to say thank you to BeckettNYPD for the idea you gave me. For some reason I didn't realize Rick would obviously want to **_**do**_** something to make Kate love him, so thank you for pointing that out to me! I was having one of many blonde moments. :-D So, Thank You BeckettNYPD!**

Having spent all day in or near the water, the last thing Kate wanted was a long shower. She soaped her hair and rinsed as quickly as she could and then began soaping the rest of her body. But her mind kept wandering and when it did, her movements would slow.

Kate couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun with a man… or any person for that matter. Her mother had had a wonderful sense of humor and Kate had loved just spending hours upon hours laughing with her mom, but this day with Rick was… amazing. She found herself chasing and swimming and playing silly games she hadn't played since she was a young girl.

At one point, Castle had laughed out loud to see her splashing in the waves and called out, "Well, what do you know! Kate Beckett _does_ know how to frolic!" which prompted Kate to run and tackle him back into the next oncoming wave.

And as they played, they kissed and they touched each other, but Rick never let it go too far. Rick couldn't seem to bear letting her out of his grasp but every time Kate moved to deepen a kiss, Rick would back away, splashing or continuing whatever game they were playing. Kate could almost believe that Rick wasn't attracted to her, or that he even felt nothing more for her than platonic, brotherly affection. But the way he was constantly touching her or kissing her- chaste kisses though they mostly were- had Kate wondering what the hell was going on.

Kate stood back under the shower and let the water fall over her face, attempting to clear her mind by washing her thoughts away. She wasn't going to get any answers alone in a shower stall. So she quickly finished and shut the water off. _Besides_, she thought, smiling. _Castle is probably out there waiting for me_.

Before they'd headed inside to eat, and as they reclined on their separate chairs, soaking in the last of the sun's rays, Castle had informed her, "We have one of two choices for dinner. We could dress up, go out and have dinner in a gorgeous little place overlooking the ocean. Or we can dress up, stay in and I'll cook for you."

Kate had made a look of distaste and teased, "Do we have to dress up?"

"Well, we could always go naked, but I don't think the other patrons at the restaurant would survive the shock."

"So my only choices are naked, or all dressed up?" she asked, humor in her voice.

"Yep."

"Hmm…" Kate murmured as she paused as if to seriously consider her choices. "If we stayed at home naked, we'd have no one to shock but ourselves." She had smiled then, fully aware that she was contradicting a threat she'd made just hours ago.

Rick had laughed then, but was that sound a bit strained to Kate's ears? Then he'd stood and held his hands out to her. As he pulled her to her feet, he teased, "Stop trying to distract me. I've been dying to see you in that little red dress you thought you sneaked into your suitcase when I wasn't looking."

After that, they'd headed inside to get ready for supper. And now, though Kate had rushed her shower, she took her time getting ready for dinner alone- at home- with Castle. _At Rick's home_, Kate corrected herself, unsettled by how easy the past day with Rick had been, and how comfortable she was with him. Rick was an easy person to lo… _to be around_, Kate again corrected herself.

Kate finally stepped back from the bathroom mirror and studied her reflection; what she saw made her smile. Earlier that day, Rick had complained about her smoky eyes and her 'perfect little mouth.' Expert makeup application had made her eyes even smokier and her mouth a deep red. Her hair fell in loose waves to her shoulders and the hem of her dress barely covered her thighs; she tugged on the hem then, straightening any creases and brushing it flat against her body. She stepped into her red heels, and her smile grew broader; she didn't think Rick would be able to keep his eyes off her long legs. He hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her all day and it made Kate warm to imagine finally letting him touch her.

Kate adjusted the hem of her dress again, pulled up the strapless top a little and pushed a lock of hair into place. Then, before she could continue fidgeting, she turned away and headed out to dinner.

As soon as Kate stepped into the main family room, she stopped dead and looked around in awe. Normally it was a nice room, warm and comfortable, but now the lights were dimmed and candles were set up every where, reflecting shimmering light over everything; soft music emanated from _somewhere_. But there was no Rick so Kate continued into the kitchen.

Rick was at the stove, his back to her, moving things around in pots and pans. Kate watched him for a long moment, taking in his dark blue shirt and slacks; a jacket hung on the back of a barstool and a white apron covered the front of him. Kate studied his profile, his hair and his movements as he worked; he was definitely comfortable in a kitchen and he'd obviously gone to a lot of trouble. She smiled when she acknowledged that it was all for her.

Finally, she said, "Some thing smells good."

Rick turned to toss a smile her way, but his eyes never actually left the food. "It's almost done."

Kate moved farther into the room and leaned her hip against a counter. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Making a derisive noise, Rick said, "No. Thank you. You can just sit over there and keep me company."

She narrowed her eyes on the back of Rick's head and said in a rather droll voice, "I absolutely _love_ when you tell me what to do."

Chuckling, he firmly said, "Lie. You probably like it as much as I-" Rick hesitated, then trailed off in a dazed voice, "like being called kitten." He'd finally turned to look at Kate and when he saw her, words left him. His gaze swept down her body, stuck on her legs for a long moment, then swept slowly back up, over her form fitting dress, her bare shoulders, and finally her gorgeous face. When he was finally able to speak, all he could say was, "Wow."

Kate's eyes made the same sweep over his body and had to fight the smile that began to form. "I could say the same thing." Her eyes went back to the glittered phrase on his apron, the giant mouth puckered up right below it, and laughed; the apron commanded the reader to, "Kiss the Cook."

Looking down at himself, to see the source of Kate's laughter, Rick quickly began removing the apron, and gave one word as explanation; "Alexis."

Kate nodded understanding as she moved into the kitchen. Castle was turning off the stove, giving things one last stir, and Kate knew he's soon need plates and bowls. So she moved to get them, without being asked just knowing what needed to be done. As Rick started putting dinner together onto plates, Kate found the bread basket and salad bowls and took them out to the table Castle had set up in the main room. Even though he was supposedly working, Kate could feel Rick's eyes following her everywhere she moved. Had it been anyone else, Kate would have been creeped out by the staring, but she was used to Castle by now. And maybe she even liked it a little bit.

"You need… to go…sit down," Rick eventually stuttered out.

"What?" she asked, confused and just a little annoyed.

He cleared his throat and turned away, finally finishing putting dinner together. "I'm almost done in here. Why don't you grab a bottle of wine- that one on the counter there- and head out to the table. I'll be there in a second."

Smiling at the back of him, Kate finally realized the problem and instead of helping the situation, she sidled up to and asked, "What's the matter, Ricky? Are you okay?" She put her hand up to feel the side of his face with the back of her hand. "You feel pretty hot."

Rick finally turned to narrow his eyes on her and complained, "You're such a tease."

She smiled slowly and informed him, "It's not teasing if you intend to do something about it."

He turned to fully face her, and stepped forward, pushing her backward into the counter. When she couldn't go any further, Rick slipped his arms around her, leaning her over the counter, and kissed her. Kate's arms wrapped up around his shoulders, her hands moving to push through his hair and hold him close. Her lips parted easily under his, allowing him to invade her mouth with his tongue. She wrapped a leg around his thigh, unable to lift it higher due to the tight silk dress but it still encouraged Rick to run a hand down her side, over her hip and down around her bare thigh. Kate could feel his excitement in the way his fingertips dug into the skin of her thigh, grasping her and pulling her closer, and pressing his body into hers.

Rick broke away from her mouth, pressing his forehead against hers. Panting just a little, he said, "I could spend the rest of my life kissing you and I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Was he planning on spending the rest of his life trying? Kate wondered and she felt a warm wave sweep through her when she realized she wouldn't mind letting him try. For the rest of their lives. Together. "Maybe you should keep trying," she prompted, pulling him in for another kiss.

"Yes, Kate," he replied impishly before kissing her again.

"I could get used to hearing you say that," she teased between kisses.

He smiled against her mouth and teased, "I'll be sure not to say it too often, then."

She laughed and pulled him closer. "Just kiss me, Castle."

Rick's hands slid to her back again- 'accidentally' pulling her skirt a little higher in the process- simultaneously pulling her close and pressing her back again over the counter as he kissed her.

Slowly, Rick's hand began creeping over her ribs, feeling the soft slip of the silk dress under his fingertips. When his thumb brushed over the bottom curve of her breast, Kate broke away from his mouth, gasping. Her breaths were coming hard and fast and the movements pushed her chest harder into his grasp. And as she took a second to get her breathing under control, Rick began kissing his way across her jaw, down the cords of her neck and across her shoulder. At the same time, his hand moved up her body, finally cupping her breast, which didn't help her breathing problem at all. But Kate wasn't about to complain.

His fingertips edged up over the top of her dress and for a long moment he felt her soft skin as well as the round curve of her breast. He kissed his way back up her neck, to her ear, where he used his tongue to draw her earlobe into his mouth.

Kate made a sexy noise then, clutching him closer. One hand skimmed down his body, roaming the curve of his back, and over his rear end. She squeezed him firmly and pulled his body into her own.

Rick had to slow this down before he ended up taking her on the kitchen counter. Trying to take deep, calming breaths, he wrapped his arms tightly around her body, hugging her close. After several deep breaths and a convulsive hug, Rick said in a low, husky voice, "Our dinner's getting cold. We should eat."

"I'd rather fill up on desert," she said in a low voice.

He smiled and then kissed her again but he quickly pulled away. Stepping away from her, he turned to pick up their full dinner plates and motioned for Kate to precede him to their romantic dining table. "Desert comes after the meal," he informed her, as he followed her out, watching the sway of her hips as they went. "Unfortunately, I have to work on my book after dinner."

"Oh," Kate said, trying not to sound too disappointed. Rick had to work; she could understand that. She even realized that she was intruding on what was supposed to be his working vacation, though he hadn't said anything about it. "I'll watch a movie out here while you work."

"Sounds great." He set their plates down on the table, then went to her chair to pull it out for her. When she was seated, he went to his own chair and sat down. But before eating, he took her hands and held her gaze. With his thumbs sweeping over the backs of her hands, he told her, "I'm so happy you're here with me this weekend. I haven't enjoyed spending time with a woman this much since… well, ever."

Kate smiled at him and said, "I was just thinking the same thing earlier. You're a lot of fun to be with, Rick."

"Thank you." Rick smiled warmly at her, then lifted her hand to kiss her palm. "Now let's eat."

**A/N: Dude! This was the chapter that never ends! It just kept going and going and going… I just hope it was at least interesting. I had wanted to finish this night of the weekend, but this chapter just kept getting longer, so I'll post the next scene separately. It might be kind of short though? **

**I typed this one up really quickly and I didn't read over it like usual, so I apologize for any grammar/ spelling errors.**


	10. Chapter 10

During dinner, they talked for a long time, sometimes serious, sometimes laughing but getting to know each other better the whole time. Afterward, Rick made sure she was comfortable, set her movie up for her- even provided popcorn- and kissed her softly before heading into his office.

When the movie ended and the sound died down, Kate could hear the subtle sounds of typing and she smiled. She was glad he was finally working. And she was looking forward to eventually reading the next Richard Castle book, regardless of whether or not she appeared naked on the cover again.

Kate slowly stood and walked into his office, not wanting to distract him, but wanting his attention at the same time.

When he didn't look up, just kept typing, she finally said, "I'm headed to bed now."

"Okay," he mumbled, continuing to type. Eventually he looked up and smiled at her. "Good night."

The happy smile encouraged her, so she approached his chair and said quietly, "Come say goodnight to me before you go to bed."

He grinned and teased, "Do you need someone to tuck you in again? Would you like me to read you a bedtime story, too?"

She kept an impressive poker face, but Rick could tell she was thinking some pretty scathing thoughts at that moment. But she just admitted, "Something like that." Then she leaned down and kissed him.

The kiss began soft and sweet but quickly intensified, as Kate deepened the kiss, threading her fingers through Rick's hair to hold him close. The way her tongue invaded his mouth took his breath away, and when she finally broke the kiss, he was panting.

"Just come say goodnight to me," she commanded and Rick was impressed by how strong and smooth her voice sounded. He wouldn't have been able to sound so collected had he spoken just then. In fact, as he tried to respond, he found his muddled brain couldn't even think of something to say. So he just nodded and watched as Kate smiled down at him, then turned and sauntered away, closing his office door behind her. He simply sat and stared at that closed door for a long moment, thinking.

Rick knew exactly what Kate was offering with her words and her kiss. If he went to her room tonight- even if he only intended to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight- he knew he'd end up in bed with her. As much as that was exactly where he'd longed to be since he'd first met her, he now knew he wanted more than just a weekend. He…

_Just admit it already, Ricky_, he scolded himself. Then he continued with the accusation, _You're in love with her. You want more than just a weekend of what is sure to be incredible sex. You want a lifetime of it._

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. As long as he'd known her, Rick had longed to feel her soft- looking skin against his- longed to feel her lithe body wrapped around him. But as much as he wanted that- wanted her- he wanted her to love him even more.

So for tonight, he would keep pretending to write until he was sure Kate was asleep and not take her up on her unspoken offer.

When his attention finally returned to the computer in front of him, inspiration struck. He scrolled to the top of the document, deleted the working title and tapped in 'Naked Heat.' And as soon as he had the title nailed down, he realized he wouldn't have to _pretend_ to be writing all night.

**A/N: I know this is starting to drag on, but I really did have a plan for this story. I didn't want them to sleep together too early because I thought that would defeat the purpose of getting to know each other. At least in my limited experience, sex changes a relationship and you stop trying to get to know the person and get wrapped up in the physical side of things. I didn't want that to happen yet, so Castle is acting a bit out of character I guess. Sorry! And please have a little patience, they WILL get here.**


	11. Chapter 11

Kate yawned, stretching, and glanced around. _Seven AM_? She marveled, surprised and confused. _What happened to Castle_?

Kate thought back to the night before and frowned. She'd waited as long as she could, wearing the one piece of sexy lingerie she'd managed to sneak past Castle's watchful eyes. But she must have drifted off waiting for him.

Glancing at the clock again, she was beginning to get a little worried; she was sure she'd made her invitation clear last night and if Castle hadn't taken her up on her offer, _something_ must be wrong with him. Trying to convince herself she was overreacting, she took only long enough to brush her teeth and hurried out of her room, still wearing her lacy 'nightgown.'

The living room, kitchen and office were all empty and she hesitated to just walk into his room; no one likes 'personal space invaders.' So she knocked loud enough that he'd hear if he were awake, but quiet enough that he would sleep though the noise if he wasn't. When a minute passed and there was still no answer, Kate slowly turned the knob and opened the door. _Just to make sure he's in there_, Kate defended herself.

She peeked inside and then she smiled; half his bed covers were kicked to the floor, Rick's big body was stretched across the bed and he appeared to be wearing nothing but a sheet to cover the essential parts. She was just about to close the door when Rick moved, straightening a bent leg and snagging the sheet covering his abdomen. She watched, entranced, as the sheet slipped lower down his body, exposing one hip. Kate caught herself holding her breath, hoping that the sheet would continue to slip, even as she scolded herself for peeping.

As she studied his body, the muscles covering his chest, his stomach, his thigh… a small spot of color caught her attention. Forgetting to be embarrassed for peeping, Kate moved closer to his bed to get a better look at his hip. Tiny tips of an ink design were just visible above the hem of the sheets. _Castle has a tattoo!_ Kate marveled. _The little brat didn't tell me, even though I told him… I even showed him a couple!_

Kate moved closer, reached out and lifted a corner of fabric just enough to get a better look at the tattoo. It was a stylized bird that was frozen in a dive down to his thigh. And instead of being embarrassed, she wondered at the symbolism of the tattoo. Did he like birds? Was it tribal? Why would he have tribal ink, if that's what it was?

Kate had many questions that she couldn't ask until Rick was awake.

_I guess it's time to wake him then_, she thought, smiling impishly.

Kate eased herself onto his bed, trying not to wake him just yet. She stretched her lower body out along his, leaned over him on one hand and bent down to kiss his unresponsive lips. "Castle," she singsonged quietly, her lips moving against his cheek. Her free hand rested on his chest and she continued to sing, "Time to wake up, Ricky."

Rick sighed heavily in his sleep, and then moved, pushing Kate onto her back, rolling onto his side and throwing a leg over her lower body. His arm slipped around her waist and- still mostly asleep- he pulled her closer.

Kate was about to wake him when she realized she had exactly what she'd wanted last night: she was in bed with Rick, his arms wrapped around her. She snuggled closer and closed her eyes, totally prepared to go back to sleep for a few more hours.

But Rick sighed again and when Kate turned her head to look at his face, his eyes were blinking sleepily. "I don't remember going to bed with you last night," he mumbled, kissing her shoulder. "Did I drink too much?"

"No," Kate said and then frowned. "You _didn't_ come to my bed last night, even though I'm pretty sure I made it clear you'd be welcome there."

"Mmm, I'm sorry," he mumbled, closing his eyes again and nuzzling his face into her neck. "I was writing. Had to finish. Book due." He eventually trailed off, his breathing evening out again.

Kate rested her head against his, slid her hand over the arm draped across her stomach and pointed out, "You have a tattoo."

"Truth," he mumbled. A long moment later he continued, sounding teasingly scandalized, "Detective Beckett, you peeked. Shame on you."

Kate smiled, unperturbed. "You would have done the same," she accused him.

"Yeah, probably," he admitted. He chuckled and his breath on her neck gave Kate chills. Rick slid his hand up to grasp her ribs. "What else did you see?"

When Rick's hand had moved, her breathing sped up. "Nothing," she gasped, as she arched into his grasp, encouraging the upward movement of his hand.

But Rick stopped there, his hand moving back down to skim over her stomach. Slowly, he noticed the texture of her clothing and finally opened his eyes. "What is this you're wearing?" he asked, plucking at the lacy fabric covering her flat stomach.

Kate turned to face him, moving to press every line of her body against his. "This is what I wanted to show you when you _didn't_ come to my room last night."

"I did, but you were already asleep. I couldn't bring myself to wake you." His hand moved to rest on her hip and stayed there, behaving itself.

Kate wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him even closer. "You should have," she told him quietly before moving to kiss him.

Rick allowed the closed mouth kiss to last only a moment before he pulled away and mumbled, "Morning breath."

"I don't mind," Kate smiled and moved to kiss him again.

But he moved away, chuckling. "You can't wait the two minutes it takes to brush my teeth?"

Kate finally grumbled, "Fine."

He laughed at her again, gave her another closed mouth kiss and rolled away from her. Seeming totally unconcerned by his nudity, he stood and walked to the bathroom and Kate took the opportunity to study the back side of him, hoping he'd turned around, even while admiring the play of muscle just under the tanned skin, until he closed the door behind him.

Kate laid back in Rick's bed, getting comfortable as she let her mind wander. She fantasized about the next hour- or more- spent with Rick after he came out of the bathroom totally naked…

She hadn't even gotten to the good part of the day dream when the bathroom door opened again. She looked up, smiling… until she saw Rick. He was fully dressed, in shirt and shorts, and totally ready for the day ahead.

"I was thinking," he said as he approached the bed. "Why don't we go out for breakfast?" he stood over her, smiling down at her and holding out his hands.

Kate took his hands, looking confused and disappointed, as she said, "Sure." She let him pull her to her feet.

"Something wrong?" Castle asked. He had an idea of what was bothering her- and he was sorry for it- but he thought that if he called her on it, she'd cop out. And he wasn't disappointed.

"No, nothing's wrong," she said, though she stared at his covered chest in confusion for another long moment.

Rick tilted her head back with a finger under her chin and studied her face. He smiled encouragingly and told her, "You can tell me if something is wrong. You know that, right?"

Kate thought about all she knew of Castle's personality; he believed in honesty and he valued the thoughts and feelings of others, especially the women in his life. If something was bothering her, she was sure she could talk to Rick about it and he would listen. She just didn't really want to talk about why Castle didn't seem to want to sleep with her. What if he was losing interest? It was hard to believe that was the case, but if it was, she didn't want to hear him say it, so Kate finally smiled and said, "I know."

Rick couldn't restrain himself any longer; he leaned in and kissed her the way he'd been dying to kiss her ever since he woke up to find her with him in bed. Or, more accurately, how he'd been wanting to kiss her since the day he sat across from her in the interrogation room for the first time and teased her relentlessly.

Kissing Kate was the easiest, most natural thing in the world- and the most exciting. But trying to resist was becoming physically painful. The little lace thing she wore left nearly all of her very long legs bare and it was practically see through- except where he wanted it to be.

Kate's hands were just running up his arms and he could feel her excitement- not to mention his own- mounting. So he gently pulled away and- working hard to sound normal- he smiled and informed her, "Time for you to get dressed." And because he couldn't resist teasing her, he dropped suddenly, grabbed her securely around her thighs and lifted, heaving her over his shoulder- 'like a sack of potatoes.'

Kate screeched as she fell, her hands moving to brace herself against his back so she wouldn't smack her face on him. When she felt secure enough, she yelled, "Castle!" and she smacked his rear end- which just happened to be right in front of her face at that moment. "Put me down!"

"All right, all right," he agreed, placating her when she smacked him again, though he started to walk out of the room. "Woh, don't want you to slip," he added happily just before his free hand moved to hold her rear end firmly in place against his shoulder.

Kate smacked him again and snapped, "Castle! Get your hand off my ass."

She felt his whole body shake with his laughter, though his hand squeezed defiantly. "Well that's not fair," he teased, before he suddenly set her right side up. He smiled down at her and added, "You can't seem to keep your hands off _mine_."

Thoroughly distracted now from her amorous mood, she glared up at him in anger, and tried to think of a scathing retort.

But Rick just laughed again. "Go get dressed," he commanded, turning her and then palming her ass again to push her toward her closet. "And wear something girly," he added, calling after her. "Like a sundress or something."

_Stomping would be extremely childish_, she told herself, just managing _not_ to stomp even though her movements were stiff in her anger. She closed her closet door until only a small gap remained and yelled back at the man outside, "I don't _own_ a sundress, Castle."

"You don't… how could you…" he stuttered. "What kind of girl are you?"

Kate smiled to herself and informed him smoothly, "But I'm not a girl, Castle. I'm a woman." She opened the door of the closet and leaned against the opening, already dressed in a shirt and shorts. "_And_ I'm a cop. No criminal would take me seriously if I tried to arrest him in a silly little dress."

"Maybe not," Rick agreed, a dreamy look stealing across his face. "But it would be hot."

Kate shook her head, becoming more and more confused. She'd practically been throwing herself at him all morning and he'd denied her. But here he was, day dreaming about her. _You'd think he'd prefer the real thing_, Kate wondered. Something was holding him back, she realized. He wanted her- he _did_- Kate could feel it every time he kissed her, every time he touched her, but something on his side was preventing him from sleeping with her and until he figured it out, she knew he'd keep denying her. So Kate decided she'd let him come to her when he was ready. She hoped it was soon, though; this weekend wasn't going to last forever.

When Rick just stood there a long moment later with that dazed look still on his face, Kate stepped forward and pushed him toward the door. "Come on, Ricky," she said lightly. "It's time for you to feed me before I start taking hostages."

"Right," he agreed, finally coming out of his trance. "Food." He took her hand and pulled her out the front door, leading her on foot the short distance to a local diner he loved.


	12. Chapter 12

After breakfast, Rick and Kate spent the day window shopping, holding hands as they walked from shop to shop, talking and laughing. But around mid-afternoon, she could see him becoming increasingly distracted, wandering into his own head the way she'd seen him do when he was formulating theories- or flat out making up stories- for their cases. So Kate suggested that they head home and even offered to cook dinner.

"You can cook?" he'd teased in exaggerated shock.

She smiled and told him, "By cook, I meant reheat the leftovers _you_ cooked yesterday."

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they headed home. "Maybe I should get you cooking lessons for Christmas. Or your birthday. When is your birthday, by the way?"

"I know how to cook, Castle," she said, rolling her eyes and completely ignoring his question. "I just don't often have _occasion_ to cook."

"Oh, right," he said in a tone of voice that made her doubt that he believed her. "But you never answered my question."

"What question?" she asked innocently.

"Your birthday…"

"Oh, _that_ question." She was silent for a long minute and finally teased, "You mean you _haven't_ snooped through my _personal_ files and figured that out already?"

Rick laughed and admitted unabashedly, "Of course I have. But I thought I'd at least give you the _illusion_ of privacy."

Kate rolled her eyes and wanted to be annoyed, but she laughed too. "At least I still have one secret… or two."

"What?" he asked, his interest piqued. "What secrets?"

"They wouldn't be secrets if I told you, would they?"

"I can keep a secret," he insisted, reminding Kate of a small child who desperately wanted to know the secrets of being an adult.

It seemed like they'd had this exact conversation before, but it was still fun teasing him; he fell for the bait every at him, she assured, "So can I."

They were finally home and as Kate began preparing dinner, Rick hung around to keep her company, but she could tell he was still distracted.

She glanced over at him as she stood at the stove and said, "I've got things covered here. Why don't you go work for a while? I'll bring your dinner in when it's done."

Rick shook his head and began a protest but Kate stopped him.

"I can see something's been bouncing around your brain all day. Go let it out!"

Rick smiled and came to stand very close to her. He put his hands on her waist and turned her to face him. Holding her loosely, he stared down at her, smiling, and said "All weekend, I just keep thinking…" he hesitated, not knowing exactly how to phrase a cliché so that I sounded unique and heartfelt. But then, maybe some things were clichés for a reason. "You and I are perfect for each other. Our personalities, our lifestyles, our sense of humor… we just _fit_."

Kate just studied him, watched as he moved in and closed her eyes when he finally kissed her. Breaking away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close for a long minute. Eventually, she confessed, "I may have had the same thought- once or twice- recently."

Rick tightened his arms around her and held her closer. But Kate pulled away and pushed him back, telling him to go work already.

And while he worked, Kate finished supper, and then sat in the family room for a while, reading. She headed to bed without bothering him, even though she knew he'd protest in the morning, because as much as he was avoiding certain situations with her, Rick seemed to want her close, too.

For a long time, Kate lie awake unable to sleep, her confused, spiraling thoughts keeping her awake. She'd made her intentions clear all weekend long and Rick had rejected her every time. _Not rejected, just_… Kate tried to think of another word, but that one actually seemed pretty accurate.

Kate felt the need to roll onto her side, then her back, then her stomach, but she knew tossing and turning wouldn't accomplish anything, so she suppressed the urge to toss and it only made her more restless. So she heaved a sigh and eased out of the big bed.

Kate needed to clear her head. She needed to go somewhere she could be restless and not feel confined by the walls around her. More than anything, she needed just to get _him _out of her head and this entire damn house just made her think of Castle. It was beginning to freak her out, how often that man-child seemed to occupy her thoughts lately. If Kate were being honest though, she'd have to admit that Richard Castle had owned her thoughts for a long time now. So Kate headed down to the beach, grabbing a long jacket and her gun on the way out; _I may be on vacation_, she thought, _but I am still a cop_.

The shore was dark and the small bit of moon that was visible cast a sliver white light over the water and the sand. The roar of the waves and the beauty of the scene finally calmed all those swirling thoughts and Kate was able just to admire the beauty around her.

Closing her eyes then, Kate shook her hair out behind her, letting the wind blow it back and simply enjoying the feel of the salty air on her skin.

Images came to her then and she let them drift across her mind. She could picture herself here, living in a house- no, _this_ house- on the beach. Spending summers here and the rest of the year… She let that image drift away with the wind, not comfortable with her thought's direction.

The next image was Castle, walking with her on the beach at night, holding her close, pulling her to a stop often, just to kiss her. Maybe taking her to the sand, under the moon…

Her final image was the most disturbing of all, but she held on to it longer than the others. She could see two little kids, playing on this very beach under a hot sun, building sand castles. The little girl had long, wavy brown hair and familiar blue eyes; the boy with lighter hair had her own dark green eyes. And with them, a young red-haired woman- Alexis- guiding the children in the finer arts of sand castle construction. What scared her most was not the clarity with which she could see their faces, but how much she wanted the vision to come true. Alexis would make a wonderful older sister. And Castle… as she let the day dream continue, she could see him scooping up the children and playing with them and Alexis, chasing up and down the beach, splashing in the waves.

The thought brought tears to her eyes. Kate blinked her eyes open, banishing the fantasy and staring again at the ocean.

_I don't want to love him_, she thought. She'd been fighting it- fighting _him_- for years because she was afraid of what loving Richard Castle would do to her. If she loved him, she'd have to care and caring about him, his actresses, his exes and his deep fried twinkies might drive her mad. Kate wasn't a jealous person by nature, and she didn't want to become one. Though it was true, she'd never seen him in a steady relationship, so she could only hope that despite the philandering as a single man, he was the faithful type in a relationship; because everything she'd learned so far indicated that he might be.

A single tear finally slipped free when she realized that it might already be too late; she felt _something_ for him and now he seemed uninterested. Maybe it was time for her to cut this weekend short and try to put Rick Castle behind her.

Kate took a deep breath to calm herself and spoke. "I couldn't sleep." She glanced at the man beside her, finally acknowledging his presence. He'd been right there beside her most of the time she'd been fantasizing about him.

"You really freaked me out for a minute there," he admitted. "I saw the motion sensor light come on and when I checked, the back door was unlocked."

"Sorry," she murmured.

"No worries." Kate saw in her peripheral vision that he'd turned to study her face. "You shouldn't be out alone though… at night."

Kate finally smiled and told him, "Don't worry, Castle. I'm armed."

He breathed a laugh, smiling and said, "Of course."

They stood and stared out at the water then, watching the ocean for a long silent moment. Eventually, Rick tugged her hand out of her pocket and entwined his fingers with hers.

"Is everything okay?" he finally asked.

She took a breath to tell him, _Yes. Everything is fine_, but she couldn't do it. Kate didn't want to lie and she wanted answers. She decided just to ask. "Why don't you want to sleep with me?"

Rick was obviously surprised by _that_ question, but he let out a short laughed. "Of course I do."

"Then why won't you?" she asked. He was silent so long, Kate continued. "I'm sure I made it obvious that I was willing. So why-"

"Believe me Kate," he cut her off, his voice firm. "I want you. But I'm going to be here all summer after you leave on Monday and I didn't want you to think I'd use you like that."

"That's thin, Castle," she told him in an almost warning tone.

So Rick continued. "I was also afraid that even if we did sleep together this weekend, you might change your mind about me during the remainder of the summer. And I want you for more than just one night, Kate. I wanted you to see that I was serious about you, not just using you."

"So your solution is to make me feel like you don't want me at all? Great plan, Ricky," she added sarcastically.

He turned to face her, but Kate continued to stare out at the ocean. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way. Believe me, it was the last thing I intended to do. I just wanted some time… to let you see how much I-" he broke off, afraid to say the words. Because once he said them, there was no taking them back, and he still didn't know how Kate felt about him. _Coward_, he accused himself silently and- taking a deep breath- he said it before he could chicken out, "I love you."

Kate finally turned to look at him, wide eyed in astonishment. But then she frowned and asked, "Why would you push me away then?"

He looked uncomfortable, but he answered honestly, "Because I wanted you to love me too, _before_ we took that step together. I thought if we spent the weekend here alone and I showed you how great we are together, even without the sex, then you'd see that we belong together, for more than just a weekend."

It made some kind of bizarre sense, even if she disagreed with the methods. So Kate laughed and confessed, "One of the things I love about you, Castle." He looked stunned over her casual use of the word 'love,' but she continued, "You can always make me laugh."

He finally recovered himself and asked incredulously, "Did you just use the L word?"

"Lesbian?" she asked, jokingly misinterpreting him. "I didn't say anything about lesbians." He was such an easy mark.

"Stop trying to distract me," he commanded.

She smiled. "I said there are things _about you_ that I love. I didn't say I loved you."

"But you will," he concluded, confident in the eventuality.

"Hmm," she mumbled non-committaly.

Rick put a finger under her chin and tilted her head back for a better look at her eyes. He smiled at what he finally saw there. "You can't hide it from me. I can see it there in your eyes."

"You think you can read me?" she challenged.

"Like a book I penned myself," he confirmed.

"What are my eyes saying now?"

Castle pretended to consider for a long moment then told her, "This fool thinks he can read me?"

"Uncanny," she confirmed.

"Now they're saying, 'when is this fool going to shut up and kiss me'?"

"You are good," she joked, smiling before his mouth came down gently on her own. Eventually, she asked, "Are you going to take me inside now and make love with me before I explode?"

Rick shook his head, and Kate's eyes widened incredulously. Before she could say anything, his hands swept down to cup her back side and he yanked her body tight against his own. "Too far. Can't wait," he mumbled, as he kissed her again and began guiding her down to the sand.

Kate glanced toward the house, just thirty yards away and was about to comment but when she opened her mouth to speak, the words that came out were, "I love you."

Rick pulled back enough to smile at her, before he practically tackled her back onto the sand. Kate landed gently, protected by Rick's arms around her and she laughed at his exuberance. He unzipped her long jacket, helping her pull her arms out and spread it out wide around them, using it as a blanket for them to lay on.

Rick came down to kiss her, and when every line of his body was pressed against hers, Kate wrapped her leg around his waist and pulled his hips closer. His hand moved to touch her, beginning at her ribs and making its way down her body, but something stopped him. He wrapped his hand around the warm metal tucked into her clothes, and said, "Why Detective. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Laughing again, Kate shook her head and informed him, "That's my line."

"But I don't have a gun on _me_," he contradicted her, teasingly.

"I'm sure if I frisked you well enough, I could find a weapon on you," Kate argued, her hands slipping down to his waist. One hand reached between their bodies and began stroking the hard length of him, and she sing-songed, "Found it!"

Rick wanted to laugh, pleased that she was so much fun to be with, but when her hand squeezed him, he groaned into her neck, his hips twitching into her grasp. He moved to kiss her, his mouth hard on hers as her hand continued to slide over the outside of his pants. It took all the little focus he had to unbutton her shirt, and when he spread the lapels apart, he was surprised and pleased to find she wore nothing underneath. He found that if he didn't get away from Kate's grasping hand soon, this night wasn't going to last very long.

Rick began kissing his way down her neck and across her chest, moving down her body as he did so. Kate's now empty hands explored his upper body, running over his arms, his back and clutching his hair when he finally took the peak of one breast into his mouth. He quickly had her gasping for air, her body warm all over from the sensations he created, he moved just low enough to kiss the rose tattooed on her ribs before making his way over to her neglected breast. With his hand on one breast and his mouth on the other, Rick soon had her writhing and moaning beneath him. He pulled back again to look down at her, to study her face as he gave her pleasure, and he was distracted.

Cocking his head for a closer look, he found the last tattoo under her right breast, a mirror image of the rose on the left side of her body. He smiled and when he noticed Kate looking up at him in question, he said, "I found the last tattoo." He ran a single fingertip over the rosebud. "It's the same color," he began, but didn't finish. Instead he moved his finger to the tip of her breast to indicate what the tattoo was the same color as.

She gasped again, but shook her head. "Not the last one," she said, unable to catch her breath or form complete sentences. "One more." And then she glanced down her body to indicate where the last one might be.

Rick pulled back to look down at her shorts and when he looked back up in question, Kate nodded her head. He moved away to pull off her shorts- growing more excited when yet again there was nothing on her body under the garment- and he looked down at her. She was pretty much naked now, while he was still fully dressed, so he pulled off his own shirt just to even things out a bit. He had to move closer in the dark to see the last tattoo clearly, not to mention all the lovely parts of her body that kept distracting him from his current objective.

On the soft flesh right inside her hip bone, was a pretty little butterfly. Moving closer to get a better look, he realized the butterfly was more than just pretty, it was dangerous looking too; it had sharp points concealed within the design and blood red droplets falling from some of them. It was a little too small to see clearly especially in the dim moonlight, but it also looked like the face of the tattoo was a grinning skull. It was silly, but Rick put his hand on her hip and ran his thumb over the design just to see if it really was as sharp as it looked. Of course it wasn't, but he kept his hand there, grasping her hip, as he lowered his head to put his lips where his thumb had been.

When her knees closed on his ribs, he began kissing his way back up her body, all the way to her ear. "I like it," he said, biting her earlobe gently. "It's beautiful and dangerous. Just like you."

Kate smiled, reaching between them and opening the fastening on his jeans. "You should see my motorcycle," she said, as she pulled him out of his jeans so she could stroke him.

Rick lowered his body to rest on top of her, groaning into her neck, before pulling back sharply and asking, "You have a motorcycle?"

Laughing, she wrapped a leg around his thigh and urged him closer, positioning him so that when he moved he'd be right where she wanted him. And- for the moment at least- he forgot all about anything that existed apart from Kate's body moving with his.

**A/N: Yeah, I guess they were a bit OOC in this one. I had this plan in my head though and it wouldn't work if the characters didn't act a little bit abnormally. Well, I hope you liked how it finally worked out, this is probably the last chapter. Unless I can think of an epilogue, but we'll see. **

**Longest chapter ever! - but not in a bad way this time- Yay!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: OH MY GOSH! Did anyone see last night's new Castle? Did anyone else notice when Kate said almost EXACTLY what I'd just written a couple days before it aired? When they were spying on Natalie, Kate asked "Why didn't you sleep with me? Her me, not me, me." Though, I had written, "Why don't you want to sleep with me?" so yes, there was a little difference, but still! I'm sorry. I just had to gush about that, it was soo cool!  
****I'm not very comfortable about posting explicit sex scenes. If I do write them- which isn't often- I don't usually post them because honestly, I'm kind of a prude. But this chapter just came together so easily and I got complaints that I ended my last chapter at the 'good' part, so… FINE, here's the M rated chapter that follows the last. ;-D I'm sorry about my rambling, I was just really hesitant to post this because of the content.**

Kate and Rick lay together on her jacket, staring up at the stars. They held each other close and Castle's hands were never still; they skated slowly down her back, over her hip and up her ribs, then down again over her back. This time though, his hand continued down her curvy little backside and then down her thigh. He grasped her leg right behind the knee and hitched her leg up, over his hip. His hand swept even lower, his fingertips grasping her calf excitedly.

"I love your legs," he said quietly, his hand moving over the slender limb. "They are _so_ sexy."

Smiling, she slipped her leg around his back and used it to pull his hips into her body. "And useful," she added suggestively.

"Mmm," he murmured, pressing her body back and moving to kiss her deeply. It was a long, languid kiss, his tongue slipping slowly against hers. Kate's hands moved then, one slipping under his jeans and squeezing his rear end, the other combing into his hair and grasping the back of his head. Rick began kissing his way to her ear and said, "Why don't we take this party inside? I'd like to be able to actually _see_ your body the next time I make love to you."

Kate laughed, even as she turned her head to give him better access to her neck. "And have sex in an actual bed? How terribly pedestrian, Ricky."

"I was actually thinking shower," he corrected. He was currently brushing his mouth back and forth across her collar bone, enjoying the silky softness of her skin against his lips. "You know, the thought of you, all soapy and slippery… is very arousing."

"You keep doing that and I won't be able to make it that far."

So Rick pulled away from her chest, smiled briefly and kissed her mouth before pushing up to kneel over her. Rick grabbed her gun, stuck it in the back of his waistband, grabbed their clothes and closed the lapels of Kate's long coat over her body without letting her dress. Then he stood and helped Kate to her feet before he led her back toward the house, his arm wrapped tight around her shoulders. At one point, he pressed his lips to her hair, kissing her head and breathing in the scent of her shampoo and the beach on her hair. He led her inside the house and straight to his bathroom, only stopping to lock the back door upon entering the house. The only time he let go of her was to lean into the stall and turn on the shower.

Rick then turned back to face her, dropping the clothes he held and setting the gun on the counter. He looped a single finger into a pocket of her jacket and yanked her forward. She stepped closer to him but left some space between their bodies. A tied belt around her waist was the only thing keeping her coat closed and Rick easily pulled the long strip form it's loops, dropping it to the floor with the other discarded clothes.

Kate would have tossed the jacket to the floor too, but she sensed Rick was having fun undressing her. So she let him slowly push open the lapels of her coat, revealing her bare body an inch at a time. When the coat finally hit the floor, both were breathing faster in their mounting excitement. And Castle took his time as his eyes swept over her body, lingering on the red roses tattooed just outside each breast. They had been hidden by her bathing suit with the wide straps but he knew a string bikini would have left most of the tattoos visible. He put his hands on her ribs, his thumbs sweeping over the tattoos. His gaze ticked up to her breasts and he thought they looked like they wanted attention too; he bent forward and took one peak into his mouth, his hand moving up to cup the other. But Kate could only take a moment of the torment before she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back.

Rick stepped back, standing up straight and watched Kate as she unfastened his pants and pushed them down. When they were both naked, Rick took her hand and led her into the shower stall. He placed Kate in the very center where the water fell from straight above and washed down her head, her shoulders and then her body. When she was totally wet, Rick sat on the built in shower bench, pulled her to stand between his legs and soaped his hands. He began with the more innocuous parts of her body, rubbing soap into her arms then her legs. He turned her around to wash her back, at one point kissing the tattoo at her waist before it got soapy. Turning her around again, he just looked at her for a long moment before soaping her stomach and finally her breasts. Rick moved one of his own feet between hers and nudged them apart. When she stood with her feet spread wide, he slowly slipped his soapy hands between her legs. As he touched her, Kate's eyes slid closed and she had to brace her hands on Castle's shoulders for balance. And then, a moment later, she used her grasp to pull Rick forward, guiding his lips to the peak of her breast, which he happily took into his mouth.

When all the soap was washed away, Rick finally slid a finger into her. Every time she moaned or made any kind of noise, Rick did whatever he'd just done again- just to hear her make those noises some more.

He was so hard, he wanted to bury himself inside her and stay there for a month, but more than anything, he wanted to bring Kate pleasure, however he could accomplish it. And due to his efforts, she was soon panting, making sexy little noises at the beginning of every exhaled breath. So he slipped another finger inside her and quickened his pace, using a thumb to work the most sensitive part of her.

Kate's hands fisted in his hair, clutching him and pressing him harder against her breast and soon he could feel her body convulsing around his fingers as she made loud whimpering sounds of pleasure. Her legs buckled and she might have fallen but his hands on her held her up.

As soon as his fingers left her body she moved, straddling Rick's lap on the shower seat. Taking him in her hand, she positioned him right where she wanted him and sat down on him, taking him easily all the way inside her body. Rick's fingertips dug into her back when an aftershock of her pleasure went through her and squeezed her body around him. He used his grip on her to pull her down harder, grinding their bodies together and they both savored the feeling of him filling every inch of her. When he rocked his hips experimentally, she moved with him, increasing the movement and making Rick groan. Kate smiled, loving the sound of his pleasure. So she concentrated for a moment and contracted her inner muscles around him.

Gasping, his fingers again flexed into her back and he warned her, "If you do that again, I won't last very long."

Her smile turning impish, she did it again anyway and quickly began moving with him when Rick began rocking his hips in and out of her. And despite the threat, it was a long while later that he buried himself in her, his face in her neck and came with a loud moan, a perfect harmony for Kate's gasping whimpers of release.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So, I've decided to write an epilogue of sorts… Actually, I'm going to keep writing this story until I run out of ideas. Again. **** (I'm not changing the title, just because it would be confusing- for me- and I didn't want to start a completely new story, since it would be based on this one). I've been inspired to keep writing this story because of all of the wonderful responses I've gotten from it! I **_**Still**_** have people adding me to their story alert, even though I claimed I was done writing Cop Out. ****Although I seen now that I forgot to change the status to 'complete' so... My bad! :-D ****So as my way of saying thank you to everyone who added me to their alerts, favorites and left reviews, I'll keep adding to this story until you all have to beg me to stop! **

**So, for all of you, here's my THANK YOU!**

**Oops! A couple reviewers pointed out that Castle has already seen her apartment, so I'm fixing this chapter. I think I only added a sentence or two, and edited one or two others. Sorry about the confusion, and thank you for pointing it out to me! I didn't go back and read the previous chapter before I took up writing again and the first time around I couldn't really picture her apartment anyway, so I didn't even remember that I had written about it. **

They were in the car, driving back to the city as they continued their truth or lie game, only now their facts all had a naughty undertone to them. They had spent the rest of the weekend in bed together- metaphorically speaking. They only made it to a bed about half the time, but they did pay great attention to detail as they attempted to break in every piece of furniture in the house in addition to some of the walls and floors. They took breaks to sleep, to eat and every now and then for Castle to work on his book for an hour or so while Kate slept.

It was now late Sunday afternoon and Castle was driving Kate back to the city since she had work the next morning. Castle was going to spend the night with her- at her place- and then drive back out to the beach after she left for work.

Rick drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other heavy on Kate's thigh. Her hand was wrapped around his arm, gently playing her fingertips over the soft skin at the inside of his elbow. She moved her hand to grasp his bicep, and her fingertips flexed, reveling in the hard muscles there. On impulse, she leaned toward him and pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

Rick just smiled. He wanted to turn to her, to kiss her fragrant hair, but he really didn't want to risk killing them because he took his eyes off the road. Instead he commented, "So, not only does Detective Kate Beckett frolic, she's affectionate too. Oh, and _super_ cuddly right after I've made her-"

Kate slapped at his shoulder, abruptly halting Rick's words, and laughed. "I'm _naturally_ an affectionate person, Castle," she informed him. "I just don't have people in my life that I can be affectionate with. Even with my father…" her smile turned a bit sad. "It's been difficult. I remind him a lot of my mother. He tries not to let it bother him, but still… I can tell…"

"Well," he smiled warmly at her, squeezing her thigh. "I'm a _very_ affectionate person, so please, feel free to touch me or pet me as often as you like."

Kate just smiled and withdrew her hand from his arm. Before Rick could even protest, she was pushing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She continued to play with his hair as he drove through the busy city.

Finally, Rick pulled up in front of Kate's apartment building and they both got out of the car. When Castle opened the trunk, Kate began to reach in to get her bags, but Rick shouldered her aside. When Kate turned to give him an evil-glare-of-death, Rick didn't even look at her as he began removing their bags. "Go open the doors," Rick told her happily, still oblivious to her glare as he carried Kate's two cases in his hands, as well as his own bag slung over his shoulder. He finally glanced up at her face, noted her angry glare and smiled. "Please?"

Kate shook her head at him, but moved to do as he 'commanded.' As they made their way up to her apartment, Kate informed him, "You're just lucky I OD'd on endorphins this weekend, otherwise I'd kick you in the shin for pushing me like that. Not to mention telling me what to do. Again," she complained.

Smiling at the back of her head as she preceded him into the elevator, Rick said genuinely, "I'm sorry, sweetheart." The elevator dinged as both turned to face the closing doors. Rick dropped the suitcases to the floor as the elevator began to move, then reached out and pulled the red button to stop the car's ascension. He turned to face Kate and stepped forward, pushing her backward into the wall with his big body. "I can be a little pushy when I have my sights set on something that I want," he added, his voice low as he continued his apology.

"You apologize for being pushy," she observed, her voice as low as his and a smile teasing the corners of her lips. "By being pushier." She fisted her hands in his t-shirt and pulled him closer. "Yet not pushy enough," she concluded before pulling him into a kiss.

He chuckled, smiling against her mouth for only a second before opening to her insistent tongue.

"Good afternoon, Miss Beckett," a crackly voice sounded from a speaker in the panel beside them. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

Kate smiled at Rick's startled look then moved away from him. She reached out to hit the button to start the car again then looked up at a corner of the car and lifted her hand to wave at the camera. "Hey George. My weekend was okay," she shrugged. "I was stuck with this guy the whole time." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Castle.

"Hey!" He complained, glaring at the side of her head as they heard the chuckling over the elevator's intercom.

Kate just continued smiling at the camera- or at least where Castle assumed the camera must be since Kate was staring in that general direction, though he couldn't see the lens. "George, this is Richard Castle, my…" at the same time Kate said, "Partner," Rick said, "Boyfriend."

There sounded more staticy chuckling over the speaker. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Castle."

"Nice to meet you- so to speak," he replied.

The doors dinged and as Rick reached for their bags, Kate held her hand out to keep the doors open. Rick left the car ahead of her and Kate hesitated. Her hand still holding the doors, Kate looked back up at the camera and said, "Hey, George…?"

"Don't worry, Miss Beckett," he told her in a reassuring tone and Kate could hear the smile in his crackly voice. "I know how to keep my mouth shut."

Smiling brightly at the camera, she said, "Send Irene my love."

"She's been asking me when you're gonna come over for dinner again."

"Soon," Kate promised, then added, "Who knows, I might even have a date this time."

"Who, that joker?" George replied.

Both of them chuckled when Rick called, "Hey!" in protest to being called 'joker.'

"You bring him by and my Irene will tell you whether or not he's good enough for you."

Kate smiled cheekily and told him, "Oh, I already know the answer to that." George could be heard chuckling again, and Kate lifted her hand again to wave goodbye, finally following Rick out of the elevator.

Unlocking her apartment door, Kate could almost feel Castle's gaze on her as he studied the side of her head. As the door swung open, she turned and smiled at him. "George and Irene were friends of my parents years ago. When my old apartment blew up, George called me about this place. And now he keeps an eye on me."

Rick was just nodding in understanding when he walked through the door and froze. The place wasn't as 'top-of-the-line' or trendy as Castle's loft, but it was just as spacious and possibly even more interesting. There were different levels and spaces and the furnishings were all comfortable yet stylish and eclectic. "I know I've technically seen your apartment already, but I think I forgot to tell you this place is amazing!"

Pleased by his assessment, Kate nonetheless shrugged. "It's not as nice as-"

"Sh!" Rick hissed, cutting her off. "This place is great."

"You know, you're really annoying me today," she informed him conversationally.

Rick paused in his perusal of her apartment long enough to give her a cheeky grin. "So how is today different from any other day?"

Returning the grin, she ceded, "Touché."

Rick just laughed and asked Kate where she wanted their bags. So she led him across the main room, up a dozen steps and into her bedroom, where they spent the rest of the night, leaving only long enough to order dinner to be delivered from Kate's favorite Chinese food place.

**A/N Part II: Oddly, the next chapter hasn't been written yet- though I have the idea- but the one after that is already about a thousand words in. And the chapter after that one has been started too. I really wouldn't have had any of this if not for everyone who kept adding my story to their alerts. You kept the story in my mind and really made me want to keep working on it, and this is what you all inspired. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! And thank you again! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: The beginning of this chapter is more fluff. The second half is similar to plot, but I'm not sure if you could actually call it that. Either way, Kate and Rick are separated, so can't exactly be called fluff. :-) **

Kate sighed. At that moment, she was warm and blissfully content, but persistent thoughts kept intruding to lessen the happy. Her alarm would sound in ten minutes, she would have to leave the warm circle of Rick's arms to get ready for work and then Castle would be leaving for the summer. For good this time. To finally go get some work done on his book. A large part of her didn't want him to go; she was only just discovering how much fun Rick was to be with when her guard around him was gone. But she knew he needed to work too, without the distractions of the city... or a new relationship. Kate had tentative plans to visit him on weekends, or after a case ended, but she was still waiting for Castle to suggest it first. Rick was supposed to be working, so Kate didn't want to get in the way if she wasn't welcome. She had to caution herself not to overanalyze and focused instead on the warmth surrounding her.

Kate lay on her side, her head pillowed on Rick's bicep. His big body was pressed close to the back of hers and his free arm was draped across her waist. Kate wiggled back a little, snuggling closer to him and readjusting her hips in the process.

There was a gust of air on her hair as Rick heavily breathed out only two seconds before he spoke. "You keep twitching your back side like that, you're going to wake Big Rick," he warned. "And then you'd be late to work and you'd have no one to blame but yourself."

It was a pleasant sound this early in the morning, Kate decided; Rick's husky voice, low and scratchy from sleep. She sighed happily then and Rick's hand fanned out over her abdomen. So she readjusted her hips again, moving back even closer to him and smiled when his body proved his threat true.

Rick sighed this time and said unhappily- acting a bit- "Now you've done it. Big Rick's awake and he's not going away until you make him happy."

"But I have to get ready for work," Kate faux-complained, joining Rick's game.

"I'm sorry, but _you_ woke him. You _have_ to play with him now."

"If I must," she said resignedly. But when she turned over to face him, she was smiling happily. She wrapped her arms around his neck, slid her leg over his hip and leaned in to kiss him. "Good morning, Mr. Castle," she said when she finally pulled away, her voice now low and husky too.

"Miss Beckett," he replied in greeting. "I believe there's someone _else_ waiting for his morning kiss," he added pointedly, and just in case Kate somehow missed his meaning, Rick moved his hips against her, rubbing a very-much-awake-now 'Big Rick' against the inside of her thigh.

It was a simple matter of shifting her own hips and Rick was pressing into her body. With slow, languid strokes they began moving together, each loving the way they were always in sync, always on the same page and always seemed to want the same kind of love making at the same time. When she wanted hard and fast, he took her hard and fast because that was the way he wanted her at the time. And now, when she felt happy, lazy and content, he took her slow and soft because he wanted to feel the tender side of her he only saw glimpses of in the past.

Rick's hand skated up her arm and bushed her hair back off her neck and shoulder. When his fingers buried themselves in her hair, holding her head, Castle's mouth descended to taste the skin he'd just exposed.

"I love you, Kate," Rick said, just before he took her earlobe into his mouth.

Instead of repeating his words, Kate thought of something else that would mean essentially the same thing, and reveal a little more of her self in the process. "I'm going to miss you when you leave for the summer. So much."

There was a smile in his voice when he replied, "You're just going to miss your bed warmer." Rick was a bit surprised actually, that he was able to carry on this little conversation at all, when Kate's body was moving with his. So, just to muddle his brain a little more, he grasped her calf, hitching her leg higher around his waist and pulling her against him at the same time. Yup, there it was. His brain was now sufficiently scrambled to permit no more talking.

Kate gasped when he pressed deeper into her. "I'm going to miss this," she said breathlessly.

With the muddled brain and all, Rick could only shake his head at her. He did _try_ to come up with a reply but before he could, Kate's alarm clock began blaring, distracting him. He glared at the offending noisemaker, annoyed that it had not only distracted him from making a reply, but from enjoying these precious moments with Kate. He pushed her onto her back, rolling with her and swept his arm across her night stand, sending the obnoxious noisemaker crashing to the floor where it abruptly shut up.

"That's better," Rick decided and before Kate could get a really good glare going, he leaned down and kissed her.

Kate frowned and was about to complain about him breaking her stuff when his hand moved to cover her breast and she decided that at that moment, the _last_ thing she wanted was to talk. Besides, she was kind of glad the alarm wasn't what had woken up her this morning. And Kate was definitely feeling wide away right about now.

Every time with Rick was... better than she'd ever imagined it. And she'd always imagined it would be pretty damn good. But she was glad he had waited for love because every time he filled her body, he touched her soul. Kate thought _that_- the love they both felt- was the main reason the sex between them was so good. Sure Castle had good- okay, _great_- technique, but with love, with all the walls between them gone, the careful walls Kate built to protect herself, the act was not only physically pleasing, but joyful and heartwarming too.

When her body shattered beneath him, Rick buried his face in the curve of her neck and groaned his own release. Kate shoved her fingers through his hair to hold him to her, powerful shudders of pleasure wracking her body. Rick turned his head to kiss her, trailing tender kisses from her neck to her jaw and finally to her mouth. Kate continued to run her fingers through his hair and when he pulled back to look at her, Kate smiled. His normally perfect hair was mussed and standing on end and Kate thought he'd never looked sexier.

Kate stretched her body under his, arching her back a little to shake the last of the sleepy feeling from her limbs. Then she pushed Castle away, shoving his body off of her own and quickly leaving her bed, heading to the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" he called after her, whining a little.

"I have to get ready for work. You've made me late already."

Rick got up quickly to follow her and as she turned on the shower, he said, "I told you, it's your own fault. _You_ woke Big Rick."

Kate folded her arms across her bare chest and leaned against the counter as she gave him a wry look. "Somehow, I'm not even surprised that you _named_ your... self. _Or_ that its name includes a flattering descriptor."

"I was going to name it 'The Hammer,' but..." Rick trailed off and shrugged.

Kate laughed and turned to get into the shower, hoping she'd waited long enough by now that the water would be warm. When Castle stepped in behind her, she frowned. "What are you doing? I'm already running late, we're not-"

"I know," he cut her off. "I have to get ready to leave too." He grinned impishly and added, "Unless you want to leave me alone all day in your apartment."

"Fine," she said and angled the shower head to spray him over her shoulder. "But you're not allowed to touch me anymore. I _won't_ be late for work."

"Fine, no touching," he agreed. But he reached over her to angle the shower head back down and put his hands on her hips to move her under the water.

"Castle!" she snapped, exasperated, as she moved away and reached for a bottle.

"I thought you meant inappropriate touching," he complained. Kate lifted her arms then to lather shampoo into her hair and Castle smiled. He found a bar of soap and began rubbing his sudsy hands over her chest. "See, I'm helping."

Kate rolled her eyes, but smiled too. "What is it with you and showers?"

He gave her a look that asked, 'are you really asking me that question?' but he answered her nonetheless. "Naked. Wet. Slippery. Soapy. Wet. And naked," he listed his reasons for her. "Need I go on?"

Smiling, she pointed out, "You said wet and naked twice."

"Well, they should count twice as they are the two most important reasons I'm so fascinated by you and showers."

Despite her protests, Kate entered the precinct twenty minutes late that morning.

"Good morning," she called when she approached her desk, and she found two men staring at her with mouths gaping open in shock.

"What?" she snapped at Ryan and Esposito.

"You're _late_," Esposito said at the exact same time Ryan pointed out, "You're _smiling_."

"So?" she challenged them.

"You're never late," Esposito argued at the same time- again- that Ryan said, "You never sm-" He broke off when Beckett turned her glare on him and he shifted his gaze down to something on his desk instead.

"Lanie told me you broke up with Demming," Esposito said, stating a fact but asking a question at the same time.

"She told you that, did she?" Kate replied.

When her eyes narrowed in anger, Esposito back tracked, "I mean, I figured it out on my own but I asked her just to be sure."

"Right," Kate said dubiously. "Maybe I should pay our M.E. a visit."

"Oh," Ryan called after her when she turned to do what she threatened. "Could you ask her about our lab results while you're there?"

"Dude!" Esposito turned to glare at his partner, and threw his pencil at him in annoyance.

"What?" Ryan asked, oblivious.

But Kate thought she knew why Esposito was annoyed that he didn't have an excuse to go down to the morgue now, and she smiled as she sauntered away from the men.

When she entered the morgue, Kate had to remind herself not to whistle; an autopsy room was not the appropriate venue for a whistled rendition of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me." Instead she smiled brightly at her best friend and chirped, "Morning, Lane."

"Hey girl," she replied automatically even as she wondered, _Lane?_ It wasn't that she didn't like the nickname or that she'd never been called Lane before, but _Kate_ had never called her that before. The M.E. looked up and studied her best friend for only a moment before her eyebrows began to disappear into her hair line. "I thought you cancelled your bed and breakfast weekend with Demming?" she asked pointedly.

"I did," Kate replied, confused. "Why?"

"Because you got this little smirk that won't go away and this glowy look like you just got laid." She cocked one eyebrow at Kate- taking in the in-too-much-of-a-rush-after-having-sex-this-morning messy bun her hair was pulled into- and added, "And laid good by the look of you."

Kate didn't reply, but her permanent smirk grew into a full blown, self-satisfied grin.

"What _did_ you do this weekend?" Lanie prompted. "Or should that be who?"

"Good girls don't kiss and tell," Kate informed her nosy friend sanctimoniously.

"Lucky for me you've never been a good girl," Lanie retorted with a smirk of her own.

Kate laughed, not at all offended that Lanie saw through the perfect façade of 'Detective Beckett' to the sometimes wild woman beneath. She hopped up onto the neighboring stainless steel table facing Lanie where the M.E. was still at work. "I went to the beach this weekend," she finally confessed, biting at her lip a little.

Lanie immediately gasped and lit up with a huge smile. "With writer-boy?" she gushed.

"Writer-_Man_, Lanie," Kate corrected vehemently. Her eyes took on a dreamy look as she concluded, "Writer-_Man_."

Lanie shrieked in excitement and began bouncing in place. "Was he as good as he thinks he is?"

Kate sighed, her eyes still dreamy. "Better," she replied, and her cheeks heated up.

Lanie suddenly stopped bouncing, her face turning worried instead of happy. Hesitantly, Lanie asked, "You're not falling in love with him, are you?"

Confused, Kate looked back at her friend. "Aren't you the one who kept urging me to hook up with him?"

"You're too young to be so serious all the time. Having some fun with Castle would be good for you. But…" Lanie trailed off, shaking her head.

"He is good for me. And he is a _lot_ of fun," Kate assured her.

"But what about…" Lanie paused, thinking for a second about how to phrase her question without insulting Kate inadvertently. "What about when his goldfish-like attention span inevitably snaps?"

"I think we underestimate him sometimes, Lanie," Kate began arguing passionately.

"Kate," Lanie began in denial, but Kate held her hands up to stop her friend.

"Really," she insisted. "He's been around for two years now and in all of that time, I never gave him any real reason to believe anything would happen between us. But he stuck around and I truly believe it's because he cares about me. When I decided to go with him this weekend, I thought I'd finally do what you've been telling me to do and just have some fun. I threw myself at him- several times- but he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't take advantage of me, even though I was offering. He told me he wanted me to be in love with him the first time we were together."

"That's really sweet," Lanie acknowledged. She sighed and then tried to smile. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Thank you, Lanie," Kate said, smiling sentimentally at her friend. It was gratifying to know the sisterly love she felt for her best friend was returned.

"You're my girl," Lanie replied by way of saying 'you're welcome.' "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." Lanie's smile returned in full force when she added, "Including falsify an autopsy report if Castle ever breaks your heart."

Kate scoffed. "If that happens, there won't be a need for an autopsy report. When I get done with him, there won't be a body left to report on."

Lanie laughed. "Well, I'll help you hide the pieces."

Kate joined in her friend's laughter and hopped down from the table. "I'd hug you, but you're…" she gestured with her hands, indicating Lanie's gloved, gooey hands and the various fluids that had stained her medical gown. "Ew," Kate eventually concluded.

"Thanks," Lanie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, there are some lab results Ryan wanted me to check on," Kate recalled before pushing through the doors to leave.

"Oh," Lanie said hesitantly. The way Lanie acted, looking disappointed and obviously trying to come up with an excuse why Kate shouldn't take the reports, Kate was happy to note that Esposito's unspoken feelings were returned. Finally, she gestured with the scalpel in her hand and said, "They're on the counter over there. Will you explain the results to those half wits you work with?"

Kate found the files and then smirked at Lanie. "Are you sure _you_ don't want to explain these to the guys?" she asked in a teasing voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. When Kate just continued to smirk at her, Lanie turned on the attitude. "Girl, take those folders and get out of here."

Kate did as told, laughing on her way out of the morgue. Maybe Kate wouldn't be the only one to find happiness at work, she contemplated as she headed back up to the guys.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So it was pointed out to me that I was acting like fluff is a bad thing, when it's not. Obviously we all love fluff if we're reading and writing stories like this one, I realized. I just felt bad that there was a glaring lack of actual plot because I kind of thought people were expecting some sort of story line. If you were hoping for plot, I'm sorry to have to disappoint, but if you are looking for fluff, I am here to serve! :-D This might be the longest single chapter I have ever written, and yes, all of it is fluff. Some of it is even rated M. Enjoy! (I hope!)**

**I use a little text talk so I figured I'd explain my symbols, though I'm sure they're pretty self explanatory. :-/ is an angry glare. :-) is a wicked grin (they're supposed to have little arrow lines over their colon eyes, but fan fiction is being a butt and they are not working!) and :-)) represents laughter. I don't use much text talk, because I tend to think Castle's a **_**writer**_** so he's probably particular about actually spelling out his words. I may be wrong, but personally, I don't like text shortcuts, so I didn't use them here.**

Kate had been poring over files for a couple hours now. The guys had received a new case over the weekend while she'd been on vacation, so Kate was reading through case files and notes, trying to get a feel for the case and catch up on all the information so she could help out. Paperwork was tedious at the best of times and right now, Kate was tired, preoccupied and quickly growing irritated. She didn't want to go home to an empty apartment tonight, not after spending all weekend with Rick, so she was preoccupied thinking about him. And telling herself to grow up. _Alone time won't kill you. And you need to focus on these files_, Kate reminded herself.

She sighed in resignation and was about to do as she'd commanded herself, when her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. That simple distraction was enough to brighten her mood and when she fished her phone out and saw she had a text message from Castle, she couldn't help it; she smiled a little.

"What are you wearing?" the text asked, and her little smile grew into a full blown grin. As she read the text, then contemplated how to reply, her hand moved to twirl a stray lock of hair between her thumb and forefinger. Eventually, she thought of a reply.

"A smile." That was all she typed and hit send on her phone.

When Kate finally glanced up, two pairs of shocked eyes met hers for about three seconds before Ryan and Esposito averted their gazes and pretended they were working and not wondering what the hell was going on with Beckett.

Kate had no time to call the guys on their behavior when her phone buzzed again.

"Please tell me that's ALL you're wearing," Castle had replied, and Kate could actually picture his lust-filled expression whenever he thought of, or saw her naked.

Quickly typing out a reply, Kate hit send. "Well, unfortunately I'm at the precinct, so..." Kate set the phone beside her work space on the desk and only had time to pretend to read one paragraph- a _short_ paragraph- when her phone buzzed again.

"Wow, that's got to be pretty awkward for you; Naked at the precinct... Though, pretty hot image for me. Unless the guys are there, in which case :-/"

Kate literally laughed out loud and then had to throw a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. When she looked up to see if she'd been caught, two detectives were unabashedly staring at her in shock.

"What?" She snapped, after rearranging her features into an appropriately annoyed expression.

"Nothing," Ryan mumbled, returning to the paperwork on his desk.

But Esposito narrowed his eyes on her and warned, "Something is going on with you, and I'm gonna figure out what it is."

Kate smiled wickedly at the challenge in his tone and told him, "Good luck with that."

Esposito pressed his mouth into a determined line, but turned back to his computer, continuing to pretend to be analyzing some security camera footage. As he pondered Kate's odd behavior, he frowned at the screen. The whole giggling-at-her-phone thing was weird enough, but that challenging smirk was new too. Esposito had thought in the recent past, from watching Kate's interactions with Castle, that she just might have a playful side that she kept buried under her determination and focus on the job. The old Beckett would have snapped at him to get back to his work, but this Beckett was actually challenging him to figure out her secret, and he meant to.

Kate hadn't planned on keeping her relationship with Rick a secret- which is why she'd offered the information so easily to Lanie- but after Esposito's little challenge, there was no way she could pass up the opportunity to mess with him. Sure, she'd eventually tell the guys, but for now, it would be fun keeping her secret and taunting them with it. So, Kate sent a quick message to Lanie, "Don't tell the guys about me and Castle yet. I'm gonna mess with them for a little while first :-)"

Lanie replied, "LOL U got it, grl"

Then, when Kate typed out her message to Castle, she hid her phone under her desk and tried to type surreptitiously.

"Don't worry, you're the only person who saw me naked today. So... What are YOU wearing?"

Even as stealthy as she was trying to be, Kate couldn't keep the blush from staining her cheeks, but she worked to keep a straight face when she looked up at her desk again, stuffing her phone between her thighs as a means to keep it out of sight. As expected, the guys were still watching her- albeit surreptitiously now- but Kate gave away nothing.

When her phone buzzed, Kate's body jerked in surprise; the vibration tickled. _So much for being stealthy_, she silently grumbled, but she wanted to know what Rick had to say more than she worried about getting caught.

"Do you really want me to tell you?" Rick replied. "I thought you were at the precinct."

"Fine, I guess I better go. The guys are staring at me, wondering why I keep smiling at my phone. But I'll call you after work, and you can tell me then."

Rick's reply was almost immediate. "Are you going to tell them about us?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"I'm going to mess with them a little bit first. :-)"

":-)) You are wicked. I love it!"

"Oh, stop! You're making me blush." Before Kate hit send, she thought for a second and added, "I already told Lanie about us, though."

Kate had no way of knowing that her admission brought a happy smile to Rick's face. He didn't want to hide his relationship with Kate. He wanted everyone to know that he belonged to her, so he was inordinately pleased that she'd already confided in her best friend- whom Rick would argue was the hardest person for Kate to break the news to... Apart from her father.

"I'll ask you what she said when I talk to you later. I'm sure you're busy right now."

"Yes, you ARE distracting me from my work. But it's a welcome distraction at the moment. *Sigh* I'll talk to you later."

"Until tonight, Detective."

Kate swept her thumb over her title on the little screen, recalling the tender way Rick always said it. When she finally set her phone down for good, she looked up and met the unabashedly curious pairs of eyes watching her. She smiled at the detectives and lied, "I got a new puppy this weekend and the sitter just sent me some pictures. Wanna see?"

As expected, the guys turned back to their computers and Kate had to stifle her laughter. It was a silly lie, but she figured she had time to come up with better ways to mess with the guys.

Finally, she sighed and turned herself back to the files on her desk. Another hour or so and she'd be done... If she could just focus.

Kate let herself into her apartment and sighed. Though she missed Rick- a little- she was happy to be home. She had tried hard to get this place to her liking and she was proud of her work. It was warm and comfortable, with her own personal style evidenced throughout.

Hurrying up the short stairway to her bedroom, she changed quickly into something comfortable before wandering into her kitchen to make dinner. She knew _how_ to cook, but her lifestyle and dedication to her work often left her little time or energy to want to prepare dinner. Especially since she had no one to share it with most nights. But ever since Castle had forced himself into her apartment to 'protect' her, and made fun of her "styrofoam temple" she had started cooking again, something healthy that would keep in the refrigerator for a few days and she could reheat for dinner for the next few nights.

Kate turned on the radio and listened to some alternative rock while she ate her dinner alone. When dinner was done, the dishes cleaned and put away, Kate found her cell phone. She took it to the couch as she dialed- well, hit the speed dial anyway- and made herself comfortable as the phone rang in her ear.

Eventually, Rick's recorded voice cheerfully announced, "This is the Castle residence, home of me, Alexis Castle-"

Alexis's girly voice cut in and added, "-And me, Rick Castle."

"Sorry we couldn't come to the phone now, we had better things-"

"-He means _other things-_"

"-To do besides answer the phone."

"Leave a message and we'll get back to you."

"Maybe!"

"Dad!" That last part was muffled, and Kate could picture Alexis pulling her obnoxious father away from the phone, and reprimanding him for insulting callers as he laughed over his joke.

Kate left a quick message and ended the call. When she tried his cell phone, she got another recorded message and this time she told him her plans for the night; she was going to read a book in the bath tub with a glass of wine for a little while then she was going to bed, so if he was hoping to talk to her tonight, he better call back soon.

Kate was relaxing in her bath tub, reading Heat Wave again when loud, obnoxious pounding echoed through her apartment.

Kate frowned at the bathroom door and wondered, _Who the hell would be knocking at 9 o'clock at night?_' When the knocking just continued, she hurried out of the tub, not pausing to dry off, simply throwing on an oversized night shirt and shorts and hustled to the front door. Checking the little peep hole, she gasped and opened the door quickly to snap, "Castle? What are you doing here?"

"I forgot something," he said quietly, in a little-boy-lost sort of way.

"What?"

He looked up into her eyes and smiled. "You."

Kate returned the smile, charmed though she rolled her eyes at him too. She finally stepped back to let him into her apartment and noticed that he threw an overnight bag to the floor beside the front door. A computer case joined it, though it was set there much more gently. Then Rick walked further inside, still checking out the apartment, though he must have been familiar with it by now.

"What are you doing here, Rick? You're supposed to be at the beach house, working." She closed the front door behind them and followed him into the living room. When she sat on the couch, he sat beside her, and in a surprise move, he bent, scooped her feet up from the floor and draped her legs across his lap. Content now, his hands gently roamed her damp skin as he settled back on the couch, and sighed happily.

"I was halfway there this morning when I realized we haven't really talked," he said. His gaze locked on her feet as his hand moved to touch them.

"We've been talking all weekend," she argued.

"But we haven't yet had 'The Talk'." He said the last two words in a deep, mock serious voice. "The one where we define in words exactly what we are to each other."

"Why would you want to go and do that? We're having fun, aren't we?" She asked in a light voice, teasing.

"Right," Rick agreed quietly. For the first time- and probably _only_ time- in his life, Rick _hated _his tabloid attention. It made everyone just assume he was shallow and only cared about a 'good time,' and honestly, for the most part they were right. But now, with Kate, sure he wanted the good time, but with her... he almost wanted the bad times too. He wanted to be there with her always, no matter what she- or _they_- were going through. And to think she bought into his public persona hurt, and made him a little angry too.

Kate thought he looked adorable as he scowled down at her legs in his lap and she couldn't hold back anymore. When she laughed out loud, Rick finally looked up at her face in surprise. She lightly smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand and said, "We're together. Duh! Exclusively," she added sternly, as a warning.

Rick smiled in relief until his eyebrows drew together again. "But you haven't told the guys. And yesterday, you told George-"

"_George_," she cut him off, speaking pointedly. "Is my _father_'s friend. I wasn't about to tell him I spent the weekend in bed with you. Although I'm sure he's not naive enough to believe I didn't." She scowled then and added, "Especially after the show we gave him in the elevator."

Smirking happily, Rick teased her, "At least you didn't throw your leg around my waist like I _know_ you wanted to."

Kate rolled her eyes at him, but smiled nonetheless. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and she guessed with Rick, it was going to become a habit. "The guys... well, I'm going to tell them eventually, but Esposito threatened me and I couldn't just offer up the information after that!"

"He threatened you?" Rick asked, his hackles rising.

"Yeah, he was all, 'something's going on with you and I'm gonna figure out what it is'," She told him, putting on a little act and mimicking Javier's threatening tone and deep voice.

Rick laughed, not only because he could guess Kate's reaction to the threat but because of her act as well. She was actually a pretty good mimic, and it was a little weird seeing Esposito's mannerisms on a woman. Especially on a woman he lusted after on a regular basis.

Then Kate grew serious again and asked, "What _are_ you doing here, Rick? You're supposed to spend the summer finishing a book I've been _dying_ to read."

He suddenly found something absolutely fascinating on her knee cap because his gaze riveted there and didn't waver, his thumb brushing over the skin. "All I really need is a computer and a quiet work space..." He trailed off and Kate glared at the side of his head.

"If you think I am leaving you alone all day in my house, you are... _delusional_."

He grinned cheekily at her and teased, "Are you afraid I'll discover some of your secrets?"

"Yes," she snapped.

Rick laughed. "Fine," he relented in a teasing tone. "I can work at home and see you when you have time for me."

"You won't be bored waiting around for me all day?" She didn't like the idea that he'd be doing nothing all day but waiting for Kate to get off work, but she wasn't about to do something to jeopardize her job.

"No, I'll be working too," he explained. "I managed to fill my days before I started shadowing you. I won't fall apart now if I don't see you for a few nights."

"Why didn't you stay at the beach then? I was thinking I'd visit you on weekends, if you wanted me to."

"Why didn't I think of that?" He pondered aloud, frowning to himself in consternation. "Regardless, I wouldn't want you to waste all that time commuting, if I could just stay at home and see you there. Or here."

Kate smiled. "Well, the selfish part of me is glad you came back. I already missed you, especially at work.

"Any new, interesting cases?" He asked out of curiosity and because he was so used to helping on her cases now that asking about them was second nature.

"Yes, this new one is very interesting, but I couldn't seem to focus today." Kate didn't want to get into the case with Rick, knowing that he'd use it as a means to avoid work, like usual. So instead, Kate changed the subject. "And didn't you have something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Rick turned to look at her, but remained silent for a long moment, contemplating.

Rick believed in honesty, in truth, above all else. He would always tell his family and friends the truth as he saw it, regardless of whether he'd offend them or drive them away, as he'd done with Kate last summer. But when it came to Alexis's origin story, Rick thought he just might lie until he was blue in the face. His precious, beloved daughter would _never_ know the how's and whys regarding her birth.

The first time Rick fount out he'd gotten Meredith pregnant, he drank every meal for a week. And he was so drunk when he married Meredith, he was surprised the judge even let him go through with it. He could barely remember the ceremony, but he'd been told his best man had had to hold him up for half the service.

When Meredith had lost the baby, Rick mourned the loss harder than he'd ever thought possible. He had gone from wondering what the hell he was going to do with a baby to wondering- longing to know- what his son would have looked like, been like, had the little guy lived. But he and Meredith had mourned in different ways and as he'd told Kate, that was part of the reason he'd gotten a divorce; Castle had thrown himself into work, into his writing, and Meredith had thrown herself into shopping, and as he'd later found out, other men. The only thing they _could_ agree on was working to conceive another child to replace the one they'd lost. (After the divorce, and after he'd discovered his wife's indiscretions, he'd gotten a DNA test just to be sure Alexis was in fact his, though he knew the results wouldn't change the way he felt about his daughter. He'd just wanted to _know_ for sure.)

Rick would never allow his precious daughter to believe she'd been an accident and he would never even hint that she might not have been born had her brother survived. His daughter would only know how much her parents loved her, adored her in her own right. So, if asked, Rick would lie in this one instance. But the whole situation had taught him one thing: _safety first_.

As much as he loved his daughter, Rick had learned his lesson the hard way. Every time with Meredith after Alexis was born, Rick wore a condom. Every night with a girl he hardly knew, Rick was careful- almost to the point of paranoia.

But with Kate, he had consciously decided not to ask her about contraceptives. If she had wanted to discuss the issue, he would have followed her wishes, but she hadn't. And he had snooped through her purse- even her medicine cabinet the one night he'd slept over- enough to know that she took birth control pills. Knowing the careful, methodical person she was, Rick assumed that Kate stayed current with her pill.

Regardless, he thought it was time for him to raise the subject. But how?

"We had sex this weekend," he finally began, hesitating. Watching as his fingertips drew random patterns on her thigh, he cocked his head in thought and added, "We had a _lot_ of sex this weekend."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she replied sarcastically. "I thought something bad happened to me this weekend."

He gave her a look to quell the sarcasm. "For once I'm trying to be serious and _you're_ the one being an ass. Maybe I'm rubbing off on you."

Kate shuddered in mock horror, but kept silent for Castle to continue. She could tell he was having difficulty broaching his intended topic, so she decided to show some mercy and simply wait quietly.

"We had sex this weekend and we never used protection. So, I was wondering... Is it possible...?"

"Oh," Kate said, surprised. She kept her voice even, though her cheeks heated up and she shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'm on the pill and I'm pretty good about taking it at the same time every day."

"Oh," Rick nodded his understanding. "Okay. That's good." So why did he feel suddenly, inexplicably disappointed? _That_ was a dangerous feeling to have.

While Rick was lost in his own thoughts, Kate's fantasies from the beach came back to her: two small children who looked like the perfect blending of herself and Castle, playing in the sand...

_Katherine Beckett, you are _not _allowed to fantasize about having this man's children. At least, not until he puts a ring on your finger._ Kate scolded herself silently. _Wait, 'until?' I mean if! _If _he puts a ring… Oh, never mind, you know you want it._

Kate avoided his gaze, hesitating before finally asking, as casually as she was able, considering the question, "Rick? Have you ever thought about having more children?"

He knew she was only asking out of curiosity and for future- _way_ future- reference, so he cautioned himself not to overreact to her query and simply answer her. "Yes. I've definitely considered it and I wouldn't mind being a father again. But I'd really like to be married _before_ I get a woman knocked up this time around."

"You weren't the first time?"

Rick looked at her sternly when he told her, "You may _never_ tell Alexis this, but the _only_ reason I married Meredith was because of the first pregnancy. When that happened, getting married seemed like the right thing to do. And then we conceived Alexis initially to replace the child we'd lost."

"I won't tell her," Kate assured. "Though I'm sure she's smart enough to suspect that she might have been an accident."

Rick shrugged, acknowledging she may be right, but he knew Kate understood his reasons so he felt no need to extrapolate.

But now Kate was thinking about Alexis and her stomach tightened in nervous knots. That little girl- regardless of the reasons behind her birth- was the center of Rick's world and Kate _loved_ that about him. So she never wanted to come between them, or cause conflict there. Taking a deep breath, Kate told Rick, "I want to ask Alexis for her blessing." When Rick frowned at her in confusion, she clarified, "To date you."

"Oh," he said, surprised. He didn't even have to think about his daughter's reaction before he assured Kate, "She'll say yes. Emphatically yes. In fact, she might even beg a little if you seem hesitant."

Kate smiled, reassured by the way he didn't doubt or question Alexis's reaction, but she said, "I would still like to ask her. As my way of telling her I honor your relationship with her and that she's first in my life as well as yours."

Rick smiled sentimentally at her and fell in love with a whole new side of her; the warm, considerate, maternal Kate Beckett. He began to wonder what a little girl would look like, with Kate's green eyes and maybe his nose or something. He wouldn't want her to look too much like himself, just enough to recognize his own genetics in Kate's daughter, the way Alexis more closely resembled her mother than she did him.

"So, what about you?" Rick asked. When Kate's brows rose in question, Rick clarified, "Do you plan on having Little Becketts one day?"

"No," she said easily, shaking her head for emphasis.

Rick attempted to hide his surprise but wasn't entirely successful. "Oh," he nodded.

Then Kate grinned. "They wouldn't be Becketts, would they? The children I do hope to have- _someday_- would be named for their father, not me."

Rick returned the smile, charmed by her trick.

He took a moment to study her face. When she saw the look in his eyes, instead of scaring the hell out of her- as it had when past boyfriends had looked at her like that- Kate suddenly felt warm.

"So..." Rick began hesitantly, wanting to bring up the last issue he needed to talk to Kate about tonight.

"So?" she replied leadingly.

"I don't want to keep our relationship a secret. I don't want to hide it from your partners or my family and I don't want to pretend I'm not madly in love with you every time we go out in public together."

Kate frowned. "I never asked you to, did I?"

"Well no, but you're such a private person. You don't go out of your way to tell people stuff like that. In fact, you try to hide it, mostly."

Kate put her hand on the back of Castle's neck and waited for him to look at her. "I may not have admitted it- to myself or to you- but I only hid stuff like that because a part of me knew it would hurt you. But I won't hide my relationship with you."

"So you _are_ going to tell the guys at the station?"

"I've already told Lanie. And I'll tell the guys eventually, but I want to mess with them first."

"What about your father?" he asked nervously, after a moment's consideration. The thought of meeting the man had him nervous in a way Rick hadn't felt since he was a teenager.

But Kate looked away and blushed. "He already knows."

"What? How?"

"I know it's silly and I know I'm a grown woman, but... I still tell my dad when I leave town. It's just polite, you know, and he worries... I told him I was going away with you for the weekend, to spend time at the beach. But if he asks, I'm still a virgin!"

Rick laughed. "That's actually kind of sweet." Then his smile turned teasing. "Are you a Daddy's Girl?"

Kate smiled too. "Maybe," she admitted. She sighed, sensing their 'serious' talk was done now, and she put her head back to rest against the arm of the couch, reclining comfortably.

Rick stretched out beside her, resting his head on her shoulder and draping an arm around her waist. Sighing contentedly also, he settled in, gently brushing his thumb back and forth across her ribs.

"Wow," she said softly in a faintly teasing tone. "I'm surprise."

"By what?" he asked in confusion.

"You've been here for almost an hour now and you still haven't tried to jump me."

Rick chuckled softly. "Sex with you is _always_ incredible. But I don't have to have it _every_ time I see you."

"Oh," Kate said.

And Rick looked up to study her face when her tone sounded almost... disappointed. He smiled his charming smile and teased, "We still can if you want to. I just didn't want _you_ to think that was the only reason I'm here."

"Why _are_ you here?" she asked yet again, regardless of the fact that Rick had already told her the answer to that question.

He glared at her and said, "I'm not even going to dignify that question with a response. You know very well why I'm here."

"To talk," she concluded.

"To talk," he confirmed. He put his head back down on her shoulder. "And just to be with you. Because I love you."

Kate smiled finally wrapping her arms around his shoulders, one hand moving to run her fingers through his hair. "So what else are we going to do?" She asked after a long, quiet minute.

"I was thinking we could watch a movie. Or you could read while I work for a little while and then we'd go to bed. Why? What do _you_ want to do?" He asked and there was a smile in his voice. He thought it was slightly amusing how, for once, he was content to just sit- or lay as it were- and do nothing, but Kate was the one to get antsy; that was usually _his_ job.

"I want to make love with you," she finally replied. And even that small admission was enough to have him hardening quickly.

But he had to tease her first. "What do you want me to do?"

"What do you mean, 'what do I want you to do?' I want you to make love with me." Kate was confused; her request was pretty self-explanatory. _What new game is Castle playing?_ She had to wonder.

"Well..." he began pointedly. "If you'd said you wanted to screw, I would know exactly what you wanted; me inside of you, pounding away until we were both screaming." Kate's jaw dropped, surprised by his crude description. But she quickly controlled her expression as he continued. "But you didn't say _that_, so what _exactly_ do you want me to do?"

"You _know _what I want you to do," Kate complained, trying not to whine.

Castle lifted his head to look at her. Yes, he knew exactly what she wanted- he knew exactly where and when she wanted to be kissed; he knew where and how she wanted to be touched. But he wanted to hear her say it. So, finally he smiled and said, "Tell me."

"Castle," she whined, embarrassed to say what he wanted to hear, but needing him to touch her.

"Katie," he replied in a similar tone and he rested on her shoulder again, settling in contentedly to show that he wasn't going to move unless she told him exactly what to do.

Kate sighed. "I want you to kiss me."

Rick turned his head slightly, pressed a kiss to her collar bone and then settled again. "That was fun," he teased, indicating that he was done now. "We should do that again sometime."

"I want you to kiss my mouth," she clarified, sounding a little irritated now.

Rick lifted up to press a soft, closed-mouth kiss to her lips that lasted only seconds before he was pulling away again.

But Kate reached for his head and fisted her hands gently in his hair, holding him in place. Her eyes flashing dangerously, she stared him down as she told him, "I want you to kiss me again, but this time I want it to last much longer than that." Rick tried to move in to kiss her- exactly as he had before, only longer- but her hands tightened in his hair and restrained him. She continued, "After about a minute into the kiss, I want you to open your mouth over mine and touch my lower lip with the tip of your tongue. And when I part my lips for you to enter me, I want you to put your tongue in my mouth and use it to play with mine. When my breathing speeds up, I want you to touch my breasts- outside of my clothes. I want you to play with them. I assume you can figure out what to do with them?"

Rick simply nodded his head, unable to form words at the moment.

Kate smiled a little. "Good. When you have me gasping, I want you to put your hands inside my clothes to continue touching me. And when you have me moaning, I want you to start undressing me, starting with my shirt, and then-" She cocked her head to one side. "Oh right, I'm not wearing a bra. Shoot. Oh well. When you have me topless, I want you to start kissing down my body- with those nibbling little kisses you do, that I love- and then over to-"

Kate broke off when Castle suddenly surged forward and began kissing her. He may have skipped a step or two, his tongue moving immediately to explore her warm mouth, but Kate didn't mind at all. She tried to laugh against his mouth, but his insistent tongue forestalled any sounds. Just talking about it had been enough to get them both warmed up and Kate was soon panting between kisses.

Rick thought it was about time to start following orders- for perhaps the first time in his entire life. His hand drifted up, over her ribs to cover her breast and she made a small noise in the back of her throat. Rick held himself over her, his thumb moving to sweep over the hardening peak of her breast.

Kate drew in a sharp breath and Rick had to break away. He had to catch his breath, he had to slow down. Kate wanted a physical expression of his love, not a quick tumble on the couch- though he suspected she'd be satisfied with either. But he wanted to give her what she asked for, so he needed to slow down.

His hands turned soft, caressing instead of grasping as they slid over her chest, her shoulders, her arms. Rick studied her face as he touched her, noted her half-lidded gaze, her kiss swollen lips. He leaned in slowly and kissed her gently, taking the time to let this kiss intensify gradually as his hands continued to explore. No matter how often he touched her, Rick didn't think he'd ever grow tired of feeling Kate's beautiful body shivering under his hands.

Wrapping one arm beneath her, around her waist, Rick pulled her down until she was lying flat on the couch instead of propped against the arm rest. When he withdrew his hand from beneath her, his fingers inched under her top, skating over the skin of her midriff and finally fanned out across her stomach. He was caressing her ribs when he pulled away again to look at her. Rick pushed her top up just high enough to see the tattoos on her ribs and moved to kiss one of them. When Rick gently bit at her skin, Kate gasped in surprise, and Rick pulled away to grin at her.

Kate narrowed her eyes on him. "Here I am gasping and you _still_ haven't removed my shirt?" she said pointedly, almost as if she were disappointed in him. "What was the point of forcing me to tell you what to do when you aren't even going to follow directions?"

Rick cleared his throat dramatically and corrected her. "If I'm not mistaken- and I never am- you told me that when I had you gasping under my touch, you wanted me to put my hands under your clothes. Like this." Castle slid his hand underneath her top, palming her breast. When he brushed his thumb, back and forth, over the peak, Kate drew in a sharp breath. "Only once you were _moaning_ was I to remove your shirt."

"I said that?" Kate asked, a bit breathlessly.

Rick nodded, humming, "Mm-hmm."

"Oh," she said, swallowing hard. "Well in that case," Kate closed her eyes, tilted her head back, arched her back up into Rick's hand, and gave a loud, heartfelt moan. And even though Rick knew the sound was faked- at least mostly- it was exciting to hear her enthusiastic sounds nonetheless.

Quickly removing her top then, Rick fell down to her, kissing from her mouth to her chin and down her throat.

"There was something about nibbling kisses next," Rick pointed out as he kissed a path down her sternum.

"Yes," she gasped in agreement.

"And then over to…" he trailed off leadingly, hoping to prompt her into filling in the blank.

But Kate simply gasped, "Yes," again in an encouraging tone.

"Over to what, Kate? You never said." Rick paused in his exploration of her upper chest, waiting for her to give him direction.

But Kate opened her eyes and glared down her body at him. "Kiss me wherever you'd like, Rick. And if you're going to try to punish me by stopping until I tell you exactly what I want you to do, I'm going to bed, by myself to finish this without you."

A wide grin split his face and he asked, "Can I watch?"

Kate heaved an exasperated breath and snapped, "No!"

"Fine!" he replied in a similar tone, though he was still smiling. His body moved to press down on hers and his mouth descended to take the tip of her breast into his mouth. Kate's hands moved to push her fingers through his hair and held his head to her chest.

_He wants me to talk_? Kate pondered silently. He was finally giving her what she wanted- and it felt _damn _good- so she figured she should show some mercy and give him what he wanted too. _Fine, I'll talk_, she concluded.

"Your tongue feels so good on my breasts," she told him quietly, too effected by him to manage much volume, but determined to talk nonetheless.

Rick broke away from her chest to look down at her in surprise. He hadn't thought she was going to talk any more tonight, so her words surprised him. Though she wasn't one to keep her enthusiastic sounds to herself, especially after he'd told her how much he loved them, she was usually silent otherwise. Occasionally she'd moan his name or tell him she loved him, but other that, Kate didn't say much whenever they made love. She didn't even give direction, like other women had in the past. She just let Rick do whatever felt good to him, and enjoyed it as much as he did.

"Don't stop," she gasped and pulled him back down by the hands still wrapped in his hair. He continued his ministrations and Kate kept talking. "I love the way you make love with me. I love the way you touch me like you're trying to memorize the curves of my body with your hands. I love the way you kiss me like I'm the most delicious thing in the world." Rick's teeth suddenly scraped over sensitive flesh and Kate gasped. "Your mouth feels so good, Castle."

Rick moaned around her skin, still held in his mouth and his hips flexed against her, rubbing himself against her thigh.

"You always seem to know where I want you to touch me, and it makes me feel so good that you know me so well."

Rick chuckled against her skin and finally moved back up her body to kiss her neck. "I don't know, exactly. I just know where _I _want to touch you and it usually happens to be what you wanted, too. Funny how it works out like that."

Kate wrapped a leg around his hips and smiled. "We work well together," she concluded.

"We're _great _together, baby," Rick corrected her pompously.

"You know what would be really great?" Kate asked pointedly.

Rick laughed. "No, but I can guess." He moved away from her then, standing over her as he surveyed the length of her body. Finally he frowned, "I can't see all of you. Your shorts are in my way."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Kate asked, amused by his tone.

"Take them off," he commanded, imperiously.

Kate's gaze swept down the length of his still fully clothed body and she retorted, "You first."

Rick quickly pulled off his t-shirt and then watched as Kate slowly raised her hips. When his hands moved to the button of his jeans, Kate's hands moved to the waistband of her pajama bottoms. He unzipped his clothes, and she curled her thumbs under the elastic. Rick began pushing his pants down and Kate copied him. Out of curiosity, Rick paused in his undressing and then smiled when Kate paused too, confirming his suspicions; she was mimicking him.

So he stopped undressing himself, then leaned over and yanked her shorts down. When he smirked down into her surprised face, Kate sat up and yanked his clothes down his body. And then it was her turn to smirk up at his surprised face.

When her gaze riveted to his arousal standing up right in front of her face, Kate licked her lips. But Castle snapped, "No. I want to be inside of you."

Her eyes moved back up to his and, smiling, she laid back down on the couch, watching him as he moved to join her again. His big body felt heavenly as he pressed down to her, so Kate wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down heavy on top of her. She arched her back up to press her bare chest to his, loving the feel of Rick's skin pressed to hers as well as his arousal as he began pressing slowly into her. Tilting her hips for a better angle, Kate began humming in pleasure as he began filling her.

"Every time with you, Rick, feels better than the last," Kate gasped. "But it feels like the first time, every time, too. Does that even make sense?"

"I know what you mean, sweetheart," Rick replied, brushing a lock of hair off her cheek as he smiled tenderly down at her. He studied her dark green eyes, as they gazed right back at him, and he thought he'd live the rest of his life and never find another woman he loved half as much as he loved Kate. But the thought of even looking held no appeal for him anymore.

_There's that look again_, Kate noted, _the look that usually has me running for the hills. But on Rick, that look looks… good. _She sighed happily, and for the first time in her life, she was looking forward to the kind of relationship that might one day lead to a family of her own. First though, they had to practice their technique for the day they may actually work on building their family.

While Rick seemed content just to stare at her, not moving as they each grew accustomed to the feel of the other's body, Kate wanted _friction_. Her hands moved to his shoulders, coasted up his neck and gently wrapped around the back of his head. And slowly, she pulled his mouth down to hers, tilting her head to the side to kiss him deeply. When his hands found her breasts again, Kate moaned into his mouth, her breathing speeding up and pushing her chest harder into his hands. Then, when the torment to her body became too much to bear, Kate finally shifted her hips under his, prompting him to finally move over her, pulling out of her body slowly only to press back into her warmth until she was panting and whimpering with the pleasure.

Their climax built in them slowly, burning them with its promise of blissful release until the fire threatened to consume them. And when the heat became too intense to bear, Kate faced it head on, looking into Castle's eyes and reading the love there, as she jumped headlong into the flames. Rick was her 'forever guy,' scary as that was to admit. But as she watched him, felt his tender touch on her body, the love in his every gesture, she knew she could trust him with her life, and even with her heart.

"I love you, Rick," she told him, and when he smiled tenderly, she added, "Forever."

The smile froze on his face, his eyes going round in surprise. "I love you too, Katie. More than my own life."

She pulled him down for another kiss, and her body broke underneath him. The flames surged in waves through her, pulling gasping moans of pleasure from her mouth and pulling Rick's release from his body, spilling into her.

**A/N Part II: If anyone was wondering, I haven't been posting regularly because of my school schedule. I took too many classes this semester and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of work I have been faced with (As this is being edited, I should actually be typing up a history assignment which is due in several hours. Uh, oh.) Luckily, my means of procrastinating is writing fan fiction, but actually posting doesn't happen very often. So I'm sorry about that, hopefully I'll have more time at the end of May. **

**Thank you for every single review I have received for this story! I adore each and every reviewer for your kind and generous words! This chapter is only being posted today because I know from your comments that I'm not the only person who likes this story. Thank you!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Helmets are the Law! Wear them! Plus, they protect your gray stuff. :-) (if you're confused, just get to readin' and you'll understand... maybe).  
**  
They lay together, tired and sated, but not quite ready for sleep just yet. Kate just kept thinking about how glad she was that Castle had come back. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she hadn't been looking forward to sleeping alone tonight, not after spending the past couple nights tucked close to Rick's big, comfortable body as they slept. It still surprised her how... clingy- for lack of a better work- she was with him. But he gave her permission- welcomed her- to hold him close and simply _be_ next to him. Few other people in her life had given her permission to be affectionate and... she _loved_ it.

When she sighed contentedly, sweeping her hand over Rick's bare chest, he squeezed his arms tighter around her shoulders and pressed a kiss into her hair.

Breathing deeply of her luscious fragrance, Rick said, "My body feels tired enough for sleep, but my mind is wide awake. I could easily spend a few hours in front of my computer, but I can't seem to bring myself to move away from your hot body." In a teasing voice, he clarified, "By that I mean temperature-hot, not hot-hot."

Kate hid her smile from him, and lifted her hand to pinch at his ribs as a reply.

"Ow!" he cried, slapping his hand over hers, pressing it to his chest. "See, it's like I keep telling you; You'd make a great dominatrix." His voice turned dreamy as he added, "All you'd need is some skin tight, black leather."

Kate lifted her head to smirk at him, but his eyes were glazed in a dreamy manner and he didn't catch her look. _If only he knew..._ Kate shook her head. And then she thought, _Wait. There's no reason to keep it from him anymore, s_he realized with a sharp intake of air. She sat up, propping her upper body on a straight arm as she leaned over him. Her face lit up in excitement.

"Come with me," she blurted.

He grinned his boyish charm smile at her when he said, "I just did, but if you insist, I think I can manage to do it again." He began trying to pull her down on top of him, but she braced her free hand on his chest and pushed.

"That's not what I meant," she snapped, teasingly exasperated. "Go for a drive with me."

"Where?" he asked, confused. Few places were still open this late at night, even in 'the city that never sleeps.'

"Nowhere. Anywhere," she said, excitement raising the pitch of her voice. "Let's just drive for a while."

Kate was so excited, her green eyes actually sparkled. There was no way he could look at that face and deny her anything she wanted. "All right. Let's drive," he finally agreed.

Smiling excitedly, Rick thought she looked at least ten years younger when she brightened like that. The happy expression made his heart feel too big for his chest. Odd.

She began to bounce off of the couch and Rick was distracted. By bouncing parts... He sat still and simply watched her practically skip over to her room. When she was hidden from view, within her bedroom, Castle gasped in the breath he hadn't realized he'd forgotten to take.

"Do you have a black shirt?" she called from the other room.

"I think so... Yeah, a button down." He called back, sitting up on the couch. "Why?"

"Go put it on. And some dark jeans if you have them."

_When would she learn?_ he wondered. _I probably own more clothes than she does_.

"Yes, ma'am," he joked. He got off the couch and went to his bag by the front door. On impulse he decided to go commando; he didn't want to get clean shorts dirty if he was only going to wear them for an hour or so and he disliked the idea of putting on yesterday's pair. He was just buttoning his pants when Kate spoke from behind him, her non-muffled voice telling him she'd emerged from her room, most likely already dressed.

"You're still not dressed yet?" She teased him. "I managed to squeeze myself into this getup in the time it took you to button your pants?"

"If you recall, you had a head start," he pointed out as he pulled on the black shirt. He began buttoning up and added, "Plus, I was distracted by your body as you skipped-" He finally turned around and his words flew from him like little leather-clad butterflies. "To..." His fingers were frozen on the third button from the bottom as he ogled.

Kate wore a form fitting black leather jacket, but he was used to those; she wore leather jackets to work all the time. But underneath, she wore even more leather. What might have been a halter top, or a vest- or both- was paired with the jacket. The plunging neckline exposed a lot of cleavage down the center of her chest and the hem left about three inches of bare skin around her midriff. Her tight black leather pants sat so low on her hips, he could see the ink tips of her butterfly tattoo. Tan laces along the outer length of the pants held the garment together and exposed a strip of her long legs at the same time. Her lace up, knee high boots were high heeled and- of course- black leather.

"Please tell me you don't wear that outfit in public," he finally gasped.

"I know, it doesn't fit right anymore. I had to loosen the ties on the sides just to get into the pants." Kate twisted her upper body a little and stuck her butt out, arching her back as she examined how the tight leather squeezed her larger backside. Well, it was bigger than it had been when she was 20. "But I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." She straightened, shrugged and turned to look at Castle.

He groaned as if in pain and groused, "Then you _did_ wear it in public. And you're about to do it again. Maybe we should just stay in; I don't feel like going out anymore."

Kate rolled her eyes but she was secretly pleased that Rick appeared... well, jealous. Or maybe just overprotective. So she teased, "You can stay home if you like, but I'm going out. I didn't get all dressed up for nothing."

"There is no way you are leaving the house dressed like that," he informed her, at which point she began glaring at him.

"Oh?" she asked archly.

"Not without me you're not."

Mollified somewhat, she smiled and said, "Well, let's go then."

Sighing, Rick ceded, "Fine." He finally moved to finish buttoning his shirt, but Kate stopped him.

"Don't," She said in a low voice and then added, "Leave it." She approached and raised her hand to touch him. Starting with her palm pressed to his collarbone, her hand skimmed down his exposed chest until she could go no further, impeded by the four closed buttons of the shirt. "I like it this way."

Smiling boyishly, Rick pulled her into his embrace, and Kate pressed a kiss to his exposed chest. She let him hold her close for a long, peaceful, contented moment before she took hold of one of his hands and began leading him out the front door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No." Rick repeated emphatically for probably the fifth time. "I am _not_ driving that death machine. And neither are you," he added for emphasis.

Kate glared at him defiantly for a minute before moving determinedly and throwing one long leg over the little black and silver motorcycle. "I'm going, Castle. You can come or not."

Rick was beginning to notice that she mostly only called him 'Castle' now when she was annoyed with him- or when they were out in public. Otherwise, she'd taken to calling him 'Rick'- or 'Ricky' if she was teasing him.

He didn't like the idea of her on a bike, but the image she made- the powerful machine how purring loudly between her thighs- was sexy as hell. 'A modern day Amazon Princess, mounting her steel horse...' Castle mused idly. And then grimaced when he realized he was quoting Bon Jovi.

Then sighing, he climbed onto the 'bitch seat' and put his hands on Kate's slim waist. Smirking a little, she took his hands from her hips and pulled; she wrapped them tight around her, placing his arms where she wanted them across her abdomen and pressed her body back into Castle's chest.

"That's better," she concluded before she moved to grasp the handle bars and the bike roared beneath them. Kate took off at a breathtaking pace and for an hour, they wandered the sleepy city, her hair blowing freely back. Half the time her hair blew right into his face, but Rick loved it; the fresh clean air, mixed with her delicious cherry scent. It was intoxicating.

There was something about the speed with which they traversed the city, something exciting, that had both of their hearts beating faster and Kate pushing the limits of what her bike could do with two people on it in the busy city. Kate shivered in pleasure and excitement when Rick's hand slipped beneath her jacket and his fingertips began caressing the exposed skin of her midriff. His fingers were just creeping up, under her top along her ribs when she laughed out loud. "Distracting me right now would be a very bad thing for both of us, Mr. Castle," she called out to him.

"But you're so very distracting. I want to touch you!" he called back.

"Time to head home then, I supposed."

With his chest pressed to her back, she felt him groan then, but just barely heard it over the wind. "I don't know which I want more right now: you or to keep driving."

Laughing again, she reassured, "Well, we have a bit of a drive back, so you'll get both."

His grip around her tightened and he reluctantly agreed, "Okay."

Suddenly, the bike lurched forward and they were hurtling through nearly deserted streets, and the speed was so exhilarating, Rick's body shuddered in pleasure and excitement. His arms tightened around her, both for safety and just because he wanted to.

Kate laughed loudly, shaking her head and letting 'the wind gather her hair.'

For a moment, Kate didn't even recognize herself. She hadn't felt this happy or lighthearted in years, and it was because of Castle that she was feeling it now. She'd have to thank him for that somehow, she mused, loving the new side of her self Castle had given her permission- encouraged her- to discover.

When she finally pulled the bike into her garage and killed the engine, Kate wasn't ready to let the bike go. So she swung her leg over the front of the bike, turned to face Castle and threw her other leg over him. Both of them sitting, Kate now had Rick as well as the motorcycle between her legs.

Surprised but pleased, Rick put his hands on her backside, squeezing her and pulling her against him to grind her center against the ridge in his jeans.

"How are you _always_ ready for me?" she wondered aloud, her voice low and breathy, her heart and lungs working almost as quickly as they usually did after chasing a suspect for ten blocks.

Rick smirked and said, "We've got two years to make up for, baby." Normally, he wouldn't have called her 'baby,' but he was being pompous at the moment. He decided he'd eventually have to find a better pet name for her, though.

"Yes," she gasped before she kissed him. She shifted her position on the bike, moving closer to him while grinding her center against him again and wrapping her legs around his waist. She twisted her arms around his shoulders, buried her fingers in his hair and clutched him close as she devoured his mouth.

When Castle attempted to drag his hand through her hair, to hold the back of her head, his fingers got stuck in her wind-tangled locks and she gasped, "Ow!"

"Sorry," he murmured, removing his hand from the tangles. Instead, he gently took a handful of her dark brown tresses in his fist and tipped her head back, applying his lips to her neck.

And Kate gasped, excited by a combination of the drive and the generous man who was always ready to give her what she needed.

Suddenly, Rick pulled away from her, blinked a few times and asked, "Are there security cameras in _here_ too?"

Kate quickly scanned the large room with her eyes, even though she knew she wouldn't see them if cameras were in fact present. The scan had more to do with giving her befuddled brain the time to recall whether or not there were security cameras in the garage. She blinked when she realized how stupid _that_ was; this building was _covered_ in cameras; that was half the reason she'd leased the apartment here; and George had only added more when Kate voiced concerns over her safety.

"Yes," she finally gasped.

"Good to know," Rick nodded, and proceeded to crush his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss.

Kate tried to laugh, giddy from the bike ride and the expert kissing, but Castle's insistent tongue stole the breath- and the laugh- from her. Fisting her hand in his hair, she gripped the back of his head as she pulled him even harder into their kiss. Her other hand swept down his still-bare-chest between the lapels of his shirt and down, around his side and across his back where she began frantically kneading the muscle there in her excitement.

"We should go," Castle finally gasped between kisses.

"Upstairs," Kate finished for him, her way of agreeing with his assessment.

"Soon," he added, even as he was distracted by the low neckline of her top. His hand smoothed down the center of her chest- as much as it was able- until it slipped to one side, under the cup of the halter. "Right now," he amended, quickly becoming desperate to bury himself inside her again. But instead of releasing her, his hand began kneading, eliciting heartfelt moans of pleasure from the leather-clad beauty currently trying to grind on him through the double layer of their clothes.

Suddenly, Castle grabbed on tightly to Kate's backside and stood up, lifting her off the bike even as the motion caused her center to grind against him. He had just enough cogitative power at the moment to realize he should step away from the bike if he wanted to ensure that it would stay upright. Standing beside the bike now, Kate in his arms, Castle kissed her once more before pulling away and informing her, "I could carry you- and enjoy it immensely- but if you don't want to give George another little show in the elevator, I'm gonna need you to- Oh, gees, I can't believe I'm about to say this- unwrap your legs from around my waist and walk yourself up to your apartment."

"There are camera's in here too, Castle," she reminded him, perfectly content to remain where she was at the moment.

"But they're bound to yield lower quality footage than the elevator camera. Plus, what if we pass one of your neighbors?"

Kate squeezed her thighs around his waist in order to shift herself higher into his embrace, making Castle groan. "None of my neighbors would be up this late on a work night," she argued.

"Kate," he complained. "Put your feet down and walk your gorgeous ass over to that elevator, unless you want me to take you on the floor of a parking garage. And you can trust me; I'll do it. I once borrowed a police horse while I was totally naked. Exhibitionism doesn't scare me." Rick sincerely hoped she fell for the bluff; he had _not_ consumed enough alcohol tonight to render the threat plausible. But he wanted her again and this conversation was straining what little control he had to begin with.

"You kind of have to let me go first, Ricky," She informed him teasingly with a raised eyebrow, referring to the fact that even though he was telling her to get down, he was the one holding onto her ass like he never meant to let go and preventing her from doing what he said he wanted her to do.

"Oh, right." Castle promptly let go of her backside, let her slip gently to her feet and then just as promptly grabbed her to him again. "How far is the house?" He murmured as he leaned slowly forward for a kiss.

"Too far," she murmured back.

"Floor it is," he concluded, and in response, Kate laughed.

"Come with me," she told him, stepping away from him to take his hand and lead him to the elevator.

"If you insist," he retorted cheekily, watching the sway of her hips more than the direction of her feet as she dragged him along.

**Author's Note: Okay, we have options for the next chapter; I could continue this little scene and describe what happens upstairs. Or, I could skip the 'boring' part and move right on to what scant plot I had cooked up next (PS, the 'boring' comment was in fact sarcasm). I'll put it to a vote. Plus, has anyone else noticed that all of my chapters now seem to be ending in smut? I don't know what it is! I pretend there's plot; they have sex. They get all cuddly; they have sex. Rick says something cute; they have sex. Kate says 'Hi,' they have sex. Let me know if you're over it, and I'll try to come up with actual plot, though personally, I'm fine with the fluff. It's why I live here, on FanFiction Planet :-D (Haha, that was my not-so-subtle way of hopefully garnering myself extra reviews! They're like Crack! I think I'm addicted.)**

**Sorry about calling it the 'bitch seat' but in my defense, I've never heard it called anything else! And I thought it was funny for Castle to be sitting on something called 'the bitch seat.' I do have some ideas for future chapters, so I'm not seeing an end to this story anywhere in sight, but finals are coming up, so don't expect hasty updates- for which I apologize in advance. (Because I've been so prompt with updates in the past *she said, rolling her eyes at herself* ... yes, that too was sarcasm. It's so funny to me, so many people say I'm sooo sweet, but if you get to know me well enough, you find I'm usually sooo sarcastic. I'll stop now. Write to you later!)  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well, the votes came in and a surprising number of people wanted me to skip the smut... And that highly surprising number was Zero. :-)) I hope this lives up to expectations; did you know how hard it is to write a sex scene when you know other people are looking forward to it? Usually, it's all about the random naughty things rattling around in my brain, begging me to write them, but when you're actually 'trying' to write a good naughty (yet still tasteful) piece, it's much harder. Perfect example: I sat down to write and a new, purely smut story evolved (which I'll probably be posting soon), but nothing that would help me with this chapter. And when I tried to sit down and write this one, I was so dissatisfied with the results that I had to start over. Though luckily not from scratch, I was still able to use some of the original for this one. But as ****Felicia Day**** said in Musical Commentary, "I don't discuss my process," so I'll stop rambling now and let you get to the smutty part. (Haha, Captain Hammer reference) So, here goes...**

They rode the elevator in silence, leaning against the back wall, not touching. Rick was afraid that if he did touch her, he wouldn't stop for hours and Kate was afraid that she'd let him- regardless of cameras or possible witnesses, one of whom had watched her grow up and was still good friends with her father. So they kept a foot of space between them, not even holding hands because just then, even that seemingly innocuous touch would have been more than either of them could take. When the car finally dinged, they each smiled, pushing away from the back wall; and when the doors opened, Rick gestured gallantly for Kate to precede him. And Kate grinned at him knowingly, suspecting Rick wasn't being chivalrous so much as he was affording himself the opportunity to check out her ass. So, recalling her model training from her high school years, Kate adopted a walk that was sure to intrigue Castle's attention. She kept her own attention forward as she unlocked her front door, then let Castle lock up behind them, choosing instead to remove her leather jacket.

"Thank you," She murmured when Rick took the coat from her to drape it across the chair beside the door. But when she started to walk further into her home, Rick grabbed her by the back of her halter top and dragged her back toward him. Kate didn't even cry out in surprise or anger because honestly, she was impressed Castle had lasted this long without assaulting her. She did gasp though- in excitement- when he pushed her back against the door and held her there by pressing his big body to hers.

Rick had expected her to glare at him, or even snap at him in annoyance for pulling her around like that, but he found her laughing when he looked at her. He took a moment to study her smile, her face glowing in her excitement, before he reached up to touch her cheek. He tucked some of her hair behind her ear, and then let his fingertips skate down her neck and across her chest until he was pushing his hand beneath the cup of her halter top again. When he began brushing his thumb over the tip of her breast, Kate closed her eyes and moaned.

Rick kissed her then, passionately, attempting to devour her mouth, and picking right back up where they'd left off in the garage. Only this time, there was no friction, no pressure, where she wanted it most. She so did the only thing she could do: she put her hands on his chest and pushed.

Rick staggered back a step, but immediately moved close to her again. So Kate pushed again and this time moved with him, walking him backward all the way to her kitchen. She pulled a chair out from under the kitchen table with her foot and then pushed Castle down onto it. He looked adorably confused and when Kate put her foot on the chair between Castle's legs, he only glanced down and then back up at her face in confusion. Whatever else he felt, he still had that ever-present desire to touch her, so when his hands moved to grasp her calf and encountered leather, Rick smiled. _She's not pushing me away_, He realized. _She wants me to undress her_.

Kate smiled back at him when he raised his hands to the laces on the front of her boot and pulled. The second boot quickly followed, landing with a thump on the floor and Kate now stood before him, between his knees, still waiting. But when his hands went to her hips, she figured she should help him out a little.

"There's one more zipper that you missed," she informed him, arching her hips closer to him.

"I know where it is," He assured her and Kate smiled, shaking her head.

In Kate's experience, not many adults practiced being playful anymore. By a certain age it seemed, people have decided what they want, what they like, and they stop experimenting, stop trying to discover new things. And the same was true for sex. The first man- well, _boy_- she'd been with had spent hours with her, exploring, touching, and just having fun. But as she'd gotten older, and her partners had aged as well, the men she chose already knew what they liked. They stopped exploring because it was no longer about the journey; it was about the destination. They made sure it was _good_ but they gave little effort to making it _playful_ too.

But Rick was different. In this one area, Kate was okay with- even _grateful_ for- Rick's childish tendency to _touch_ everything. Each time they were together, Rick explored her body as if it were the first. He touched and played and experimented, trying new things just to see how it felt. He made love with her in different rooms, on different surfaces, simply for the novelty of doing it somewhere new. And he seemed to prefer no particular position, so she never knew _what_ to expect each time they came together.

So now, Rick began his exploration of her body, sweeping down her hips and over her thighs, then back up. He touched the exposed skin at her midriff and then up, over her top, over her chest, her shoulders. Rick acted like it wasn't enough just to _see_ her in the leather outfit, he had to touch her in it too, to get the full effect. He spun her in place to explore the back of her, and he took just as much time as with the front.

The only things covering her back were her tangled hair and the wide band laced around her ribs. Otherwise there was just a lot of skin and Castle touched all of it. His attention finally drifted down and he moved his hands over her backside and down her legs. They slowly drifted back up and when he reached her hips, his hands closed on her convulsively.

"You are never allowed to wear these pants in public without me," He informed her, his voice low in his excitement, as he studied the way the tight leather hugged _all_ of her curves. His fingertips curled beneath the long slits down the sides and he began moving her hips to watch her ass shake back and forth right in front of him. Kate laughed, but arched her back a little bit so her butt stuck out farther as he twisted her from side to side.

"Sexy," He murmured before releasing her hips and running a flat hand up her arched back to the ties of her halter, which he quickly began to loosen. When the ties were all undone, Kate swept the top off over her head and dropped it to the floor, but she knew Castle well enough not to turn around until she received some signal from him. Sure enough, he took a long moment to touch her bare skin before he was ready to turn his attention to the front of her.

Beginning as far down her calves as he could reach, Rick smoothed his hands over the back of her legs, over her butt and finally up, around her hips to the front of her. He studied the contours of her abdomen, the muscles there that she kept toned and hard, and his fingertips skated along the outer curve of her breasts. When he finally thought he had that particular curve memorized, as well as the smooth skin of her stomach, his hands moved up to cover her breasts and he heard Kate sigh then, both in relief that he was _finally_ touching her as well as in anticipation of more. Her little sigh told Rick how much she wanted him now, and suddenly he needed more contact. He stood up from his seat and plastered his body to the back of hers, as he continued touching her. With her body now pinned between his hands and his chest, Rick was able to hold her more firmly, squeezing her back to him in his excitement. But that wasn't all he wanted to touch.

When Rick's hands left her breasts, Kate whimpered in disappointment and then gasped when he unsnapped the closure on her pants, unzipping them as well. He didn't push the pants down quite yet, just slid one hand inside while the other drifted back up to play with her breasts again. He explored her wet folds with one hand while the other rolled the peak of her breast between his thumb and forefinger and Kate was quickly moaning in pleasure.

Eventually, Rick put his lips to the outer shell of her ear and pointed out in a low voice, "You're not wearing underwear."

Kate couldn't form words at the moment though so, biting her lip, she shook her head, confirming that she was not wearing anything under her leather pants.

There was definitely a naughty smile in his voice when he said, "Neither am I."

And now, Kate had had enough. She was ready for him- hell, she was long _past_ ready actually, but she'd allowed Rick to have his fun. Well, she was out of patience now, so she spun in his arms, wrapped her own around his neck and kissed him passionately. She broke away quickly though, breathing heavily, and then pushed him, sending him sprawling back into his chair.

Rick's eyes were hot in his desire as he looked up at her. Kate sidled between his legs, thrust her hips forward and commanded him, "Take them off."

His sexy smile kept her warm as he reached for her hips. "You're very good at telling men what to do," he pointed out, grinning over his joke.

"Usually when I give that command, most men listen better than you are currently," she retorted, impatiently waiting for him to take off her damn pants already.

But Rick glared up at her then. "How many men have you given _that_ particular command to?"

She smiled at him and confessed, "You're the first, actually." When Castle looked relieved, she smirked and added, "Men are usually too eager to get my pants off for me to actually have to prompt them."

His frowned deepened before he leaned forward and nipped at her hip gently with his teeth as "punishment" for her tasteless joke. Kate gasped and he looked up her body to her face. "I know you weren't a virgin the first time we were together, but I like to think I'm one of the few men- one of the _very_ few men- lucky enough to touch you."

Kate smiled at him happily, pleased by the show of possessiveness. "I choose my partners very _carefully_, Ricky." Her hands rose to push through his hair and she moved closer to him. Her breasts were right in front of his face now and she was amazed that that wasn't distracting him at the moment. "You _are_ one of a very few men I've let touch me."

Rick smiled happily, appeased by her assurances that _his_ Kate hadn't belonged to very many men before him. He pressed a tender kiss to the center of her chest, right between her breasts and then he finally curled his fingers beneath the waistband of her pants and slowly pulled. Though he examined very carefully every inch of skin he revealed, Rick wanted to tell her something he felt would be important for her to know. "I haven't been with as many women as you would think," he admitted quietly, and then looked up again to her face. "I exaggerate sometimes."

She gave him an incredulous smile and asked, "Did you think you would impress me?"

"No. I don't know." He pushed her pants down to the floor and when she stepped out of them, Rick pulled her to sit on his lap, straddling him. He looked down at her body, all of her bare now though he was still fully dressed and he told her, "You're so _beautiful_. You could have any man you wanted. And I boasted, maybe because I wanted you to think I could have any woman I wanted. But it's not the same. Men want you for _you_," He ran his hand over her body, starting at her hip and then smoothing up over her ribs, her breast and up her neck into her hair, highlighting just what it was men found so enchanting about her. "Women usually just want me for my fame. For my money."

Kate wrapped her arms around his shoulders and shifted closer to him, pressing her center against his clothed body. "I don't want your money," She informed him. Her hands slid down to quickly undo the few buttons of his shirt, and when she smoothed it open, she pressed her bare chest to his. "I could live without your fame," she added in the tone of someone making a gross understatement. She slid her hand down his hard stomach, between their bodies, touching his arousal through his clothes. "I just want your body." Still groping him, she leaned in to nip at his ear. "I just want you," She whispered, her mouth on his earlobe. "Filling me up." She groaned a bit desperately now and added, "Like, half an hour ago." She unzipped his pants and reached in to finally touch him. But Rick wanted more than a touch, he wanted to be buried inside her again.

When he shifted his hips, Kate knew to rise up a little and she allowed him only enough space for him to push his pants down around his thighs. Then she was sitting back down on him, his hardness pressing into her once more and she was once again loving the way they fit together so perfectly. She shifted her hips as close to him as she could, taking him so far inside her body, he was knocking into things she didn't think were meant to be knocked on. But she held him there, letting her body adjust to his size and reexamining the way he filled her so completely. Finally, Kate tilted her hips away from him a little, and his hands were on her backside, rocking her against his body and making her gasp in delight.

They moved together slowly, Rick guiding her with his hands on her backside and Kate was soon making those little sounds he loved, deep in her throat. They were unguarded sounds of passion, and almost as much as is pleased him to hear her say she loved him, Rick loved it when Kate made those little whimpered sounds of pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her back then, pulling her closer to him, needing to feel more of her skin pressed to his, and he attacked her neck with his mouth. Kate let her head fall back to give him better access even as she gasped, "You better not leave a mark there, Rick."

He chuckled against her skin, but moved away from her throat, skating his lips down to her collar bone where it would be easier for her to hide any accidental marks he caused.

Slow and sweet was always nice, but it wasn't enough for her right now. Holding on to his broad shoulders, Kate began rocking her hips faster and soon, Rick wanted more as well. They just couldn't move the way he wanted, seated in the chair.

Rick tightened his grip around her body and stood up, and Kate wrapped her legs around his waist to hold on to him. Then he turned to the table beside them and set Kate down again, pushing her onto her back so he could lean over her and watch her writhe as he pulled back and then slammed into her again. He almost worried that he'd hurt her when her next whimper sounded more like a little scream, but she flexed her legs around his waist and used them to pull him back to her again, just as hard and fast as before.

His hands were planted on the tabletop on either side of her shoulders, and though it gave her the opportunity to explore his torso, Kate wanted him to touch her too. So she grabbed his wrist and pulled until he lifted off of it and let Kate direct his palm to her breast. Rick then tried to put his mouth to the other side of her chest, but he found it difficult to keep up the rhythm of his hips at the same time. So he kissed his way up her chest and to her mouth, invading her with his tongue in a manner not dissimilar to the way he invaded her body.

Soon, Kate was gasping and whimpering into his mouth and he knew he'd have to pull away from her again. He took one of her hands from his chest and placed it on her own breast, indicating that she should do it herself if she still wanted the friction there. And his now freed hand skated down her body, over her straining abdomen to her center, where he used his fingertips to play with the most sensitive part of her. He began rubbing her in rhythmic circles and her own hand matched the motion on her overly sensitive breast and Rick's mouth came crashing down on hers. Her tongue boldly came out to play with his and seconds later, she was moaning and gasping against his mouth, making erotic music that worked with the shuddering convulsions of her body to wring his release from him, spilling into her writhing body. He kept moving for her, prolonging the exquisite torment that was almost pain until he thought he'd pass out from the pleasure. But consciousness remained and he collapsed onto her chest, panting into the crook of her neck as she pressed sweet little kisses along his shoulder. One last shudder took Kate's body and Rick groaned; If he didn't one day annoy her to the point she shot him just to shut him up for good, the way her body sucked every last ounce of his pleasure from him was going to kill him.

Rick couldn't stand there for long. It was now past one thirty in the morning and he was exhausted- in a very good way, but still exhausted nonetheless. And they had to get up early in the morning, for Kate to go to work and for her to kick him out of her house for the day. He thought it was funny how she didn't trust him not to go through all of her personal belongings should she leave him alone in her home, mostly because it was a valid concern; She knew him well. It felt good to him that someone who knew him the way Kate did loved him anyway, childish behavior and all.

Kate finally sighed, too tired to be thinking about anything other than how good Rick always made her feel. But that sigh made him pull away from her to look down at her face and when they saw the damage they had done to each other- the messy hair, the swollen lips, the sweat covered skin- they both grinned proudly over their handiwork.

"I need to shower now, but I'm too tired," Kate complained in a sleepy voice.

"Shower in the morning," Rick told her. He finally slipped out of her body and moved away from her, only to gather her into his arms bridal style- after finally stepping completely out of his pants- and carry her up to her bedroom. He set her on her bed and covered her, then climbed in beside her. Gathering her close to him, Rick kissed her hair one last time, then nuzzled his face into her neck and said, "Sleep now."

Kate shifted onto her side, snuggling her back against Rick's body and when she was settled contentedly, she murmured, "Yes, Ricky."

His sigh was cool on the back of her neck and he replied, "I love hearing you say that."

Though she thought she knew the answer and she was so tired she was practically giddy now, she asked, "Say what? Yes?"

He kissed her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her waist and snuggled closer to her. "My name," he replied sleepily.

And then Kate fell asleep with a happy little smile on her face.

**A/N: Oh, gosh, that was mushy. Gross! ... But tell me what you think. :-) Was it too explicit? *wince* … Or was that just what y'all asked for? If so, you'll probably like the next story I'm going to post, inspired by that song, "I Put A Spell On You." That's probably what I'll end up calling it. Oh, and I already have the next scene for this written out! (I just realized that, haha. I thought the scene I had would come later in the story, but it will be perfect for the next chapter. Oh, and the one after that is started as well! Awesome! I just LOVE summer break!)  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay, so I was confused myself, so I had to go back and figure this out. In the timeline of this story, this new chapter happens on the ****Wednesday morning**** after they left for their vacation. They left ****Friday night****, spent Saturday at the beach, Sunday wandering the town, Monday "sleeping" together, then drove home that afternoon. I know I said they drove back Sunday originally, but that doesn't work in the time line, so I'm gonna go back and fix that chapter. Therefore, they spent ****Monday night**** together at Kate's apartment, then ****Tuesday night**** when ****Castle**** surprised her by coming back for her. They talked, and went for a motorcycle ride and the following scene is Wednesday morning. Right? I think... :-D**

They were both in the bathroom, getting ready for their day. Kate stood there in nothing but a bra and panties, doing her makeup while Rick brushed his teeth, only a towel wrapped around his waist.

When the makeup was done, Kate grabbed her leave-in conditioner and began rubbing it into her hair, trying to decide what to do with her hair that day.

So, out of curiosity, she looked at Rick and asked, "Do you like my hair better up or down?" As she asked, she realized that he'd never mentioned it before and Rick wasn't one to keep his preferences quiet. So she was curious now that she didn't know the answer to this particular question.

With a hand towel, Rick wiped the last of the toothpaste off his mouth as he looked at her in the mirror, and he said, "I like both."

"But which one do you like _better_?" she insisted.

Rick turned to face her, leaning his hip against the counter as he smiled at her and insisted, "I like _both_."

"Oh, come on, Castle," she complained. "You _have_ to have a preference." She quickly gathered up her hair and held if off her shoulders before she asked, "Do you like my hair better _up_?" She struck a short pose then let go of her wet hair, letting the messy tresses fall about her shoulders. "Or do you prefer it down?" She posed for him again, but he was still smiling.

"Honestly, sweetheart, I like _both_." When she frowned- dangerously on the verge of actually _pouting_- Rick reached out for her, his hands on her bare hips, and pulled her close to him. To prevent the pout- though it would have been adorable to see, especially on the cold, hard Detective Kate Beckett- Rick decided he'd better explain. "For me, it's all about the fantasy. It's all about what I can imagine doing to you while your hair is up or down." He reached behind her head and gently gathered her hair together. When he had a messy bun pulled up, he took one of her hands and placed it where his were, indicating that he wanted her to hold it for him so his own hands could return to her hips, holding her loosely. "When your hair is up, I can imagine leaning close and skating my lips over the soft skin of your neck and shoulder." Rick leaned in as he spoke and did exactly as he described. Kate shivered under the touch of his mouth on her body and Rick smiled against her skin. She was so _responsive_; he loved the unguarded way she always reacted to his touch. But he was supposed to be explaining, not trying to start something, so he continued. "I can imagine touching your bare skin." Again, he put his words into practical application, skating his fingertips down her neck, over her shoulder and then down her arm. "And when you're shivering- yep, just like that- I can see myself pushing my hands into your pretty hair and thoroughly mussing it up as I pull you close for a kiss." Rick buried his hands in her damp hair and Kate let it fall, choosing instead to wrap her arms around Castle's waist as he pulled her in by her head for a kiss.

The kiss didn't last very long, but Kate was breathless when she concluded, her voice husky, "So you like my hair up."

"Definitely." He began arranging her hair around her shoulders, the curled ends just brushing the tops of her lace-clad breasts. "But when it's down, the fantasies are just as good."

"Tell me," she insisted.

"Well, your hair does frame your face beautifully, only enhancing what you have naturally." He began with the most mundane, trying to calm himself a little yet increase the tension through a slow lead up. "And again, I can picture burying my fingers in your hair to pull you close for another kiss." He did so, but only a soft kiss that ended after a few seconds. "Or, I could gather up a handful of it and use it to tip your head back, so I can kiss your neck. Your collarbone... Your chest." His sweet, soft kisses travelled down from just below her jaw across her collarbone and down her chest. He placed a last long kiss over her sternum before moving away and standing up straight again, watching her face as she gazed back at him with half-open eyes. "And when your hair is down- all wavy and wild- I can picture it, fanned out across my pillow as I hold myself up over you. And we both know what that leads me to thinking about."

Kate smiled at his sexy joke and concluded, "So you like my hair _down_."

"She finally gets it!" Rick teased.

She laughed in a low, husky way and put her hands behind his neck to pull him into a kiss, deeper and longer than any Rick had allowed while they were still talking. But now, the talk was done and Kate's insistent tongue was invading his mouth, and then Castle was turning them and pressing Kate back against the bathroom counter.

Though Rick kissed her for a long moment, he knew Kate was supposed to be getting ready for work, so his hands behaved themselves, remaining- _nearly_- motionless, one on her hip and the other in her hair. Rick was just pulling away when Kate plucked at his towel and grinned at him when it fell to the floor.

"Oops," she said facetiously.

Frowning, he warned her, "Don't start something you don't have time to finish."

Kate's grin only grew and she stepped away from him, quickly shimmied out of her black lace panties and then hopped up onto the counter. Her knees moved apart and she pulled his body to stand between them, her arms wrapping around his shoulders when she argued, "We'll have just enough time if we do it fast."

It felt good to him, knowing she wanted him just as much as he'd always wanted her. But she'd never given any hint; he'd never known her true desires because she'd hidden them so completely, so now, well... He _had_ to hassle her a little bit, didn't he? So he deepened the frown he was wearing and he complained, "You _know_ how much I hate to rush it."

Kate was surprised enough that she just stared at him in shock for a moment. But when she studied his eyes, she saw the laughter there and knew he was teasing her. _You can't tease a tease_, she thought and just barely prevented herself from shaking her head at him. Kate gave him the saddest eyes she could manage- which she'd been told in the past could break a man's heart in two seconds flat- and said, "I guess we'll just have to wait all day. Until I get off work. Unless I have to work too late and then we'd have to wait all day tomorrow too..." She trailed off, looking supremely disappointed.

Rick laughed then, knowing exactly what she was dong. He wrapped his hands around her thighs to guide her long legs up around his waist as he moved his body closer to hers. He'd been ready for her since he _started_ talking about his fantasies, so he eagerly began pressing into her now as soon as she made room for him. He found it slightly amusing that for _once_ in his life, the sex was about speed and _not_ about making it last, especially considering that with Kate, he preferred that every time lasted hours. His movements were fast and frenzied and he idly wondered how quickly he could make Kate come. It was like a very naughty race- one that they'd both win in the end.

Kate leaned her hands back on the counter and rocked her hips faster and faster against his. Rick watched her body moving with his for only a moment before he reached out to put his hands on her lace-covered breasts. He saw Kate bite her lower lip, and when his thumbs began sweeping over the tip of her breasts, he watched as she gasped, her mouth falling open again. Only a moment later, Kate was gasping and moaning her release and the convulsions of her body were more than Castle could take. His climax quickly followed hers and he fell against her, for the first time since they began, kissing her lips and invading her mouth with his tongue.

Kate sat up straight again, holding him close as he plundered her mouth. When it seemed like he never intended to stop, Kate playfully slapped at his naked rear end. Rick finally pulled away in surprise and she told him, "_Time for work_!"

"Call in sick," he pleaded, moving to kiss her neck.

She put her hands on his hips and shoved, disconnecting their bodies and causing Rick to groan.

"I'm not calling in sick," she told him firmly. Then she hopped down from the counter, sighed happily and decided, "That's one hell of a way to start the day, though." Kate quickly pulled her panties back on and then returned to business. She blow dried her bangs, glanced out the doorway to the clock in her room, decided she didn't have the time to do anything more with it and quickly twisted her hair up into a messy bun.

As he watched her whirlwind of frenzied activity, Rick dressed in the clothes he'd left just outside the bathroom. "What are you doing today?"

"Working the latest case," she said dismissively. "What about you? What are you going to be doing without me?"

"Writing about you," he answered honestly.

Kate laughed; at the moment, it felt good to be the center of someone's life. She'd never had that before and she thought it could be nice knowing that Rick was so focused on her. She just hoped the novelty didn't wear off soon and he became suffocating...

Deciding to worry about it later, she kissed his cheek, touching his still bare chest as she walked past him, out of the bathroom. Minutes later, she emerged from her closet fully dressed, a dark button down top, dress slacks and of course her killer heels. She was pulling on a gun holster when she said, "I'll text you when I'm heading home for the night, 'kay?"

"Sure." Rick turned to look at her, now fully dressed as well. "Is that your way of telling me not to text you while you're working?"

Kate smiled and teased, "You _are_ smarter than you look." She headed to her dresser to put on the last of her cop accessories; the gun, the badge, the watch and the necklace. Some people might not include those last two in their list of accessories every officer needs in order to survive, but for Kate, they reminded her of why she was a police detective, and they gave her the strength to never give up.

Surprising her, Rick took the necklace from her hands before she could slip it over her head. He held it up and studied it for a moment, watching the light glint in the modest diamond, noting all the scratches and polished spots on the gold, indicating that it had been well worn and well loved. On impulse, Rick kissed the ring just before he slipped its necklace over her head. "Be safe," he murmured. Then he turned away to gather up his own things.

The sweet things he did always surprised her, though she figured she should know better by now. How many times would he have to prove to her that he loved her before she stopped being surprised by it, she wondered? Or before she just accepted it as fact and moved on from there. Well, it might be fun to continue being surprised for a little while longer.

Smiling as she watched Castle get ready to leave with her, she said, "Tell you what; if we have a slow moment at all, I'll text you while I'm working."

"Sounds good to me. I guess I'll just get some actual work done while I'm waiting around for you," he joked. Then he laughed out loud. "Stop worrying about me, sweetheart. I'll be fine for the day without you. In fact, even if I _don't_ see you until tomorrow night, I _will_ survive the separation. I may not like it, but..." he shrugged.

Well, that assessment surprised her; she hadn't realized she'd been worrying about Rick but knew that it was true when he pointed it out. How absurd, she thought. _She_ was the one with the dangerous job; Rick's most dangerous work hazard was carpal tunnel. But she worried about him getting bored and doing something stupid or... Hell, she didn't know, she just didn't like going to work without him.

Kate sidled close to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Maybe I don't want to be without _you_ for that long," she confessed.

Though he held his overnight bag in one hand, his free one went to her backside, caressing as he pulled her body closer. "You like me," he accused her and then kissed her, slow and sweet. When he pulled away, he smiled and said, "Kick a creep's ass for me. Oh, and have Ryan record it on his phone; I _love_ watching you in action."

Kate laughed and led the way out of her apartment, towing Castle along by his hand.

At the precinct, Kate was sure that the guys would notice that she'd worn her hair up two days in a row. She rarely wore it up at all, so it would probably attract notice that she'd done it for a second time in the same week. And now, both men were watching her, probably trying to figure out what was "wrong." So she put on an act, pretending to be more tired than she actually felt.

"Hey," Kate called to the two detectives as she approached her desk. She sat down, sighing, attempting to look tired and droopy when she began complaining. "The new puppy kept me up _all night_, whining and whining to be petted." Kate had to control the grin that threatened when she wondered how Castle would feel to know he was now a "New Puppy" as opposed to the "New Boyfriend?" The rest of the story was actually based mostly in truth, which was why the puppy thing was even funnier to her. "I finally took him on a drive- you know, like some people do for their infants, to put them to sleep- and he _finally_ stopped whining, but it was like, three AM before I was able to get to sleep."

"I am _never_ getting a dog," Esposito mumbled.

"I always pegged you for a cat person," Ryan pondered aloud.

"Allergic," Kate explained, shrugging one shoulder. "Can't get near the little critters without swelling up, turning red, and then turning blue when I can't breathe anymore."

"You're allergic to cats, but you're not allergic to dogs?" Esposito asked incredulously.

"Weird, right?" Kate shrugged again and when she offered no other explanation, the guys began telling her about their case.

It was always fun messing with them, but she was still dying to come up with a better way to do it. Lying about having a dog just seemed lame, though she could now go home and tell Castle that he was her new puppy as far as the guys were concerned. That should make for a couple laughs in the meantime.

**A/N: One of my favorite words: ****Facetious****. It's just fun to say, and I'm so happy I was able to use it here. Yeah, I'm a nerd. Haha.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This is my second try at chapter 20. I thought the original was hilarious, but apparently I was the only one. So I took it down a long time ago and I took a while… a **_**long**_** while, to figure out what to do with this one. And to get over my embarrassment that everyone seemed to hate the original. Hopefully you'll like this one much better… **

Kate was on her way to meet the guys at a suspect's apartment to question her about her alibi, when a vision in a shop window halted her. She stood staring for a long moment when a text from Esposito came through asking if she was going to be there soon. Kate tore herself away from the little boutique, but came back as soon as her interview was over, telling the guys she had some business to take care of before she could meet them back at the precinct. Her purchase was totally not 'her,' but Kate thought Castle at least would appreciate her efforts.

They ended up working late that night, so Kate sent Castle a text saying that she was sorry, but she was too tired to wait up for him to come over, and that she would see him tomorrow. To mollify him somewhat, she added that she would have a surprise for him that she was sure he would "get a rise out of."

When Kate finally let herself into her apartment, it was well past midnight and the time, as well as the events of the day, could be seen in the way her shoulders drooped and her eyes barely opened again after each blink. It had not been a _bad_ day per se, just... busy. And she did not have her twelve-year-old, sugar addict to lighten all the heavy moods of interviewing the victim's family and friends. Kate sighed a bit, a small smile pulling at one corner of her mouth, when she realized how much fun Castle brought to her job and now to her personal life. He was such a happy, joyful person to be around, it almost made up for the fact that he took _nothing_ seriously and had the behavioral traits of a child. Kate knew he could be serious and adult-like when the situation absolutely called for it, but she dismissed that; Kate was thinking about the things that had made her fall in love with him in the first place at the moment.

She fell asleep before she could see whether or not Rick replied to her text.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Kate checked her phone as soon as her eyes opened, hoping for a message from... her _boyfriend_, she thought with a smile.

**Good morning, Detective Tightpants**, the message began and Kate laughed, recalling how much he seemed to love her leathers. **Sorry I missed your text last night, but I fell asleep pretty early. You wore me out this weekend!**

Having been presented the perfect opportunity to tease him, Kate texted him back. **Aw, you poor thing. Your age must be getting to you... After our weekend together, I felt GREAT ;-)**

**:-/ I'm not sure whether to feel insulted or proud of myself...** Came his quick reply.

**Both, **she quickly sent off. Laughing, Kate started over then, finally greeting him for the day. **Good morning, Big Rick**, she quickly tapped out, lounging in her bed while she thought of the day ahead and the new dress she planned to wear just for him. **If you liked my leather pants, you should see the red ones. They're not leather though, they're lycra and something sparkly. Maybe I'll show you sometime.**

**I can be at your place in five minutes!** he replied mere seconds later.

**You better not be! I'm leaving for work in five minutes**, she fibbed.

**:-( Fine, I'll wait for tonight. Is the tight, red lycra my surprise?**

**No, it's something even better. But don't try to get it out of me, because I WON'T be telling you what your surprise is. You'll just have to see me tonight to find out.**

**Please tell me you're not working late again? I don't think I can stand the suspense all day.**

**I'm HOPING we will close our case today and if we do, I'll be home early. Maybe I could come to you? I'll bring dinner even.**

**And spend the night at my place?**

**Sure, as long as you don't plan on SLEEPING.**

**I can think of a few ways we can entertain ourselves... just bring your sexy self and an open mind.**

**You have no idea how open my mind can be ;-)**, Kate typed up and sent but before Rick could reply and start what she was sure would be a naughty session of sexting, Kate quickly typed a second message. **I gotta go now, honey. I'll see you tonight. 143** Kate took a deep breath, unsure about adding the numerals to the end of her text _and_ about calling Castle 'honey.' Did she really want Rick to know how sentimental she was capable of being? But he already knew she loved him, so what was the harm in reiterating now and then, even if it was text code instead of actual words? She had to be quick to get her message to Rick before he could reply, so she hit send and finally climbed out of bed.

Rick however, could not let her have the last word- or number as it were. Seconds later Kate got another text that made her smile happily. **Love you, too sweetheart. See you tonight.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"A little help here, Ryan," Kate ground out, as she struggled to subdue the man whose back she was currently kneeling on.

"You got this one, Beckett," Ryan replied happily, showing no intention of helping her. "Besides, I'm busy."

Kate glared up into the cell phone camera lens that soon-to-be-deceased-when-Kate-finally-got-_this_-dirtbag-in-cuffs-and-then-murdered-the-other-dirdbag-_videotaping_-her-takedown, Detective Kevin Ryan held trained on her. When the guy beneath her squirmed some more, Kate stopped glaring up at Ryan, shifted her bare knee so she was kneeling on the guys hands, and fished in her jacket pocket with a now free hand for her cuffs.

The part that annoyed her the most was the view that Ryan most likely had and the fact that she was still panting heavily. Kate did not have the biggest chest by any means, but in her low cut top and her push-up bra- not to mention her accelerated breathing after chasing this guy for a couple blocks- Kate felt like she was going to spill out of her dress. And Ryan was standing over her. Looking down. While she bent forward- toward the camera- over this guy as she finally handcuffed him. It might not have been so bad if every inhaled breath did not push her breasts to the very limit of her low neckline! But she was taking too damn long to calm her breathing and this guy would _not_ hold still!

Kate, having finally wrangled the metal bracelets onto the squirmy little worm, put her hands on his shoulders to hold him down and leaned over him even further. "If you don't stop fighting me, I'm going to put you in holding with a tranny hooker who would just _love_ to spend some quality time with a pretty boy like you. And then I'm going to 'forget' to fill out your booking paperwork for a couple hours." Well, _that_ made the young skin-headed, homophobe finally sit still.

Pushing off the kid's back, Kate half stood, half bent over him to pull him up awkwardly by one arm. Esposito conveniently pulled up to the curb just then and as Beckett shoved their suspect into the back seat, she questioned the other detective over her shoulder; "How long have you been filming me on that stupid phone, Ryan?"

Finally pressing stop and lowering the device, Ryan smiled and said, "Since you came flying around that corner with about three yards of see-through sundress trailing behind you. You know, even after working with you for years now, I'm still amazed every time you chase down a suspect in those crazy heels and never once manage to break or twist anything."

Kate gave him a sarcastic smile as she stalked toward him. _Come closer and I'll _find something _to break or twist…_ she thought murderously. Instead of saying it aloud, she ordered, "Give me your phone, Ryan."

Ryan's face turned so quickly and comically to 'alarmed' that Kate might have laughed if she were not currently in _Intimidating A Dirt Bag_ mode. Taking a step back, sensing danger probably, Ryan quickly brought his phone up, hit a few buttons and then offered it to Kate. He even had the nerve to smile as he held up the offensive little device.

As Kate snatched the phone from Ryan's grasp, Esposito rounded the front of his car to join the other detectives on the street. He thought about making one of his signature witty remarks to the man in the back seat of his car, but decided that- after being chased and apprehended by a supermodel in a sundress and four inch heels- any further humiliation would be considered _police brutality_. He was distracted when his phone started buzzing and seconds later he was fishing it out. He pushed a couple buttons as he approached his partner, but stopped dead when the video began to play. "Dude!" he said, then watched the entire three minute video in slack-jawed silence. "Now that's hot!" he concluded.

When Kate activated Ryan's phone, she saw a 'Message Sent' notification and her suspicions about what Javi was watching were confirmed.

"Fine," she snapped, approaching the two men as she drew up to her full, intimidating height. "Keep your stupid little video. But if I see it anywhere on the internet, I swear... meter maid will look like a promotion after the place I'll have you sent."

"Sure thing, Boss," Espo agreed easily, somehow unaffected by her blustering.

"Yeah, we would never do something like posting this video on the World Wide Web for all the internet to see," Ryan agreed facetiously.

"Show it to a few friends maybe," Espo turned to Ryan to discuss the possibilities.

"Like some guys in vice, you think?" Ryan agreed, turning to face his partner and effectively cutting Kate out of the conversation.

Since her long glare went ignored by both men- who _used_ to be intimidated by that very same glare, damn it!- she turned and stalked away, heading back down the block toward her own car. Maybe it was a bad idea, all around, for her to wear a dress to work. Not only did suspects think they could run away from her- and actually get away- but her subordinates treated her like… well, like they were not afraid of her anymore and that damn well could _not_ continue.

As she walked, Kate realized she still had Ryan's phone and that had to be the Detective in question running after her because just then he called, "Beckett, can I get my phone back?" When she ignored him and just kept stalking back to her car, he called shrilly, "Please?"

Kate hit play on the video and watched as she chased down the skinhead kid, then took him down, and finally subdued him. All while wearing a frilly little yellow and white sundress with big pink and green flowers all over it. When she had put it on that morning, she had thought that adding a black leather jacket might make it just a _little_ tougher looking (and maybe give Castle some happy little memories of their bike ride the other night) but watching the video now… the leather only gave her the added appeal of looking badass and tough but soft and feminine all at the same time. Which was great! … for a date with Rick or something, but not so functional at work.

"Come on!" Ryan called again, interrupting her musings and his plodding footsteps sounded loudly as he ran to catch up with her. Before he reached her though, Kate quickly hit some buttons on his phone and then turned it off.

Without greeting him or offering his phone back, Kate quietly spoke as they continued the walk to her car, "Seriously, don't post that anywhere." She did not even look at him as she spoke, unsure she wanted him to see what she really felt about the idea of everyone at the precinct seeing that little clip. There were already certain things she had to deal with, being (an attractive) female in a male dominated profession, she really did not need the added attention that that video would garner.

"I wouldn't," Ryan assured, frowning at the side of Kate's head.

"Espo…" she argued.

"He wouldn't either. Look, if it really bothers you, I'll erase it…"

"No," Kate quickly cut in, not wanting Ryan to think she was being… well… a _girl_. "I've got my own ammo to tease you guys with. I wouldn't want to deprive you of one of the _few_ things you've got against me," she joked more lightheartedly than she had been, all without looking at him. Then she finally offered Ryan back his phone.

"Yeah, we mostly just planned on teasing you with it. Maybe taunting Castle when-" suddenly, Ryan broke off, remembering only _after_ he stuck his foot in his mouth that the last time any of them had seen the author, the dumb ass was walking away from Beckett with his arm around some bimbette. You could actually _see_ the heartbreak in Kate's eyes as she watched Castle walk away from her, not knowing she had broken up with Tom specifically so she could spend the weekend with Castle. But Ryan was not supposed to know about any of that (and Lanie had threatened all kinds of nasty, painful things on Ryan and Esposito should Kate ever find out what she had told them).

To Ryan's surprise, when Kate finally turned to look at him, there was a mischievous smile lighting her face. "He'll be _very_ disappointed that he missed it, won't he?"

"Maybe I should forward it to him?" Ryan suggested in an attempt to get a rise out of her and then waited for Beckett to threaten him, glare at him, or even strike out at him in _some_ small way.

But Kate just smiled. "You do what you need to do to feel like you have the upper hand here," she replied in a tone that suggested she knew she had the upper hand either way but was going to allow Ryan, with all his fragile male ego, to believe he had bested her.

Well, that took all the fun out of it! Ryan frowned- pouted, honestly- and stuffed his phone into his jacket pocket as he and Beckett got into her car.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kate managed to work it so she was alone in the elevator when they finally returned to the precinct and the first thing she did, as soon as she got the chance, was call Castle.

"Did you get my surprise?" she asked by way of greeting as soon as the call was picked up.

"I'm still watching it!" Rick replied and by the sound quality of his voice, Kate could tell he was on speaker phone- probably so he could watch the video and talk to her at the same time on his fancy pants phone. "As soon as I can manage to pause it for a second, I'm going to figure out how to put it on the big screen!" he added happily.

"I didn't even have to ask him to record that. Then I stole his phone and sent the video to you," Kate sounded proud of herself for how well that had worked out, all without giving up the game and letting the boys know too soon that she was with Castle now.

"So you still haven't told them about us?" Castle asked, surprising her by taking their conversation on a much more serious track than she had anticipated.

"Not yet…" Kate replied hesitantly.

"When?" he insisted.

"Esposito wants to figure it out on his _own_," Kate argued and on anyone else, that particular tone would have been labeled 'whining.' "Even if he doesn't know what 'it' is yet."

"They think I left you, don't they?" Rick asked quietly, remembering what Kate had told him about breaking up with Demming so she could go with him to the Hamptons.

"N- … yes." Remembering Ryan's reaction to slipping earlier and mentioning Castle's name, the Detective obviously thought Castle was a taboo topic at the moment. She sighed in resignation and said, "Fine. I'll start dropping hints."

"Hints?" Rick asked incredulously.

"Hints that are as subtle as a runaway train?" she amended.

"Fine," he agreed, sounding reluctant though Kate _knew_ he was smiling.

"In the meantime," she offered brightly, realizing that Castle's _presence_ did not need to be kept secret and it would be much easier for the guys to figure it out if they knew he was in town. "Why don't we tell them that you're in New York and you never left with your ex?"

"Sure," he said happily. "Do you want me to come by the precinct?"

"No, you still need the break to work on your book. But we'll figure something out."

"Okay."

"The doors are _finally_ opening on the world's slowest elevator, Honey. I got to go."

"All right, I'll see you tonight. I love you, sweetheart," Rick added, wondering just where the limit was to her sappiness.

Apparently it was pretty high today, because even though he knew she was already entering the bullpen, she still smiled and said, "You too."

"I got to tell you that I'm lovin' the 'Honey' thing," Rick added quickly before she could hang up.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, laughing. "Bye."

As she approached her desk, the guys turned to stare at her from their perch near the murder board.

So Kate smiled and told them, "That was the new puppy." She gestured with the phone to indicate who she had just been talking to. "He just learned to speak."

Instead of swallowing the lie this time, both men frowned in suspicion and began to wonder if Kate hadn't been lying to them all along about getting a new puppy. But if it was not that, then… _what_ was going on with her lately? And why was she so smiley? _That_ was definitely odd.

Kate had not even pulled her chair away from her desk when Captain Montgomery leaned out of his office door and called out tersely, "Beckett! My office. Now!" The man had obviously been watching for her arrival.

When she glanced back at the other two detectives, she sent an inquisitive look their way, asking without speaking, _What did I do _this_ time?_

Almost as if they had actually read the question in her mind, Ryan and Esposito both shrugged at her in response. They were just as confused by Montgomery's ire as she was. It had been a while since Castle's influence had led her to do something stupid on the job. So, knowing she could not be in _too_ much trouble- she had not _done _anything this time!- she shrugged as well and headed to the Captain's office.

Kate had barely closed the door before Montgomery snapped, "What the hell is this?"

After a quick glance to the paper held in the Captain's hand, Kate replied, "A picture, Sir?"

"It was sent to me this morning by some very 'helpful' officers over in traffic enforcement," he explained in a derisive way. Obviously he did not really believe that the officers in question were actually trying to be 'helpful.' "Care to explain to me just what the hell is going on in this photo?"

As Kate stepped closer to the desk, Montgomery held the picture out so the Detective could take it to get a better look. What she saw had her gasping and her eyes going wide; it was a traffic-camera shot of her and Rick tearing through the streets of NYC on her Harley. "Castle and I… we just… I mean, that was just…" Kate stammered.

"What?" Roy snapped in confusion. Then, when he realized what she was sputtering about, he scoffed and said, "I don't care what you and Castle do in your free time. But I will _not_ have one of _my _Detectives flouting the law so flagrantly." With an accusing finger, Roy jabbed toward the picture of her and Castle. "You ride that machine again in _my_ city, you wear a helmet. Understood?"

Kate was able to prevent her mouth from gaping open in surprise, but only just. Quickly scrambling to collect herself, Kate nodded. "Yes, Sir. I will."

"And for heaven's sake, Beckett, stop running red lights!" he complained in a tone that said he could not believe she had done something so careless.

Kate nodded again, but this time had to hide her smile. "Yes, Sir."

Roy sat down at his desk then, satisfied with her promise, but Kate hesitated.

He had already begun sifting through papers and forms, so Kate said, "Um… Sir?"

Roy looked up at her again. "Yes, Detective?"

"About that picture- about Castle and me… we-"

"Kate," the Captain began, cutting off any explanations. "It's about damn time you two stopped dancing around each other and finally got it together." He smiled at her shock, her mouth now hanging open comically. It was like the entire team had felt it last Friday when Castle had walked away from her, but to see pictorial evidence that he had come back for Kate… The Captain was in a pretty damn good mood this afternoon, if only his people would stop gallivanting around the city in the wee hours, running red lights, and showing a complete disregard for helmet laws.

Unsure of what to say to _that _proclamation, Kate just laughed and turned toward the door. "Thanks, Captain," she mumbled on her way out.

"Oh, Detective?" Roy called, halting her move to open the door. When she turned back again, he said, "Be sure to tell Castle that if he breaks your heart… I'll break his legs."

Kate laughed again, though she had to wonder how serious the threat was… "Why do my friends and family… and boss-" she added, unsure that Roy would appreciate being classified as friend, or even family even though that was how she considered him- "keep threatening to harm Castle if he breaks my heart? And why do you all keep assuming he's _going_ to break my heart? What if I break his?"

Roy was smirking now, but he shook his head at Kate as though disappointed. "Lots of people love you, Kate. And we don't want to see you get hurt. It's as simple as that. Plus, Castle's a big boy; he can take care of himself."

Her happy smile turned sentimental as well and she said, "Well, I can appreciate that. And while I appreciate the offers of violence too, I know how to handle Castle on my own."

"I thought there was no controlling the 'nine-year-old on a sugar rush?'"

Kate tried very hard not to smirk, but only just managed it when she said, "I have a new weapon against him that I never had before." While both their minds initially went someplace dirty- Roy grimacing and Kate's smirk finally forming- she concluded, "Do you know how well that man responds to the word _please_?"

Roy chuckled, charmed by the unexpected joke (and honestly a little relieved not to know more about _anyone's _sex life than he cared to), and Kate smiled. "Good luck with him, Beckett," he offered as a dismissal.

"Thank you, Sir," she said, smiling warmly at her boss and then finally leaving the Captain's office. But not before adding, "And thank you for having my back."

Kate had a lot to think about, but she had to do it quickly as she approached her desk. She could almost _feel_ the stares the guys held trained on her and she had to tell them _something._ But what? And how much? At this point, she could not just come right out and tell them that she was dating Castle. It felt like giving up and she did not do that. But she _could _give them hints and help them to arrive at the right conclusion on their own. They were _Detectives_ after all and if they could not figure out something this big, maybe they did not deserve to be cops.

With a wicked satisfaction, Kate decided and finally told the guys, "The Captain just wanted to yet at me a little. Remember how I mentioned the other day going for a late night drive?" When the guys nodded (even if they did not really remember) Kate told them, "Well, we got caught on a traffic camera running a red light." All three Detectives silently wondered if anyone else had picked up on her use of the plural pronoun as opposed to the singular.

"Oooo…" the guys chorused sympathetically.

"_And_ neither of us were wearing helmets." Yeah, they had all heard it that time.

"Well, _that_ was stupid," Esposito summed up succinctly, which drew from Beckett her signature glare.

"Where did you go?" Ryan asked.

"Nowhere in particular. It was three in the morning, so nothing was open. I just wanted to… go for a bike ride," she added with a casual shrug.

Kate wandered away then and when she was out of earshot, Esposito turned to Ryan and said, "She mentioned going for a ride Tuesday morning."

"Right," Ryan agreed, catching on and adding, "Only, she _said_ she took the new puppy out for a _drive_."

"To put it to sleep, or something."

"Right… Are _you_ beginning to wonder if there even _is_ a puppy?"

"I bet there isn't! You can't teach a dog to speak!" When he realized that people actually do teach talks to 'speak,' he added, "Not to then have a phone conversation with anyway."

"I knew what you meant," Ryan said with a bit of humor in his tone. Until he got confused, frowned, and asked, "So, if she wasn't riding around with a dog- who shouldn't be on a motorcycle to begin with- who _was _she riding with two nights ago?"

They contemplated this new question for a long moment, wondering who it could have been and how they might figure it out for sure.

"The _traffic cam!_" They gasped in unison.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Okay, fine. So maybe the dress-at-work thing is NOT very realistic, but what's the point of fanfiction if you can't make your favorite characters do whatever you want them to? Plus, I did have a plan for the dress, so if you can just let yourself read the chapter without overanalyzing, then I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Did I mention that it's nearly two chapters of smut all rolled into one? ;-D I thought about breaking it into two chapters, but y'all already waited so long for these last couple chapters, I figured I'd be nice and let this one stand at 5,400+ words.  
**

**Oh, and in case ANYONE is still following this, here's a reminder for your convenience: this story takes place just after the season two finale, but instead of spending the summer apart, Castle and Beckett go to the beach house together. That means I don't have to address any of the heaviness of seasons three and four and we get to live in a happy world where everything is less angsty. Unless you like that kind of thing, then this is probably not gonna appeal to you. :-)**

The Detectives only worked for a couple hours before Kate packed up and asked, "You guys mind if I head out a little early tonight? I've got plans…"

Esposito scanned the little dress she wore and finally asked the question he had wanted to ask all day; "You got a hot date?"

Kate's eyes narrowed on the other Detective and she said, "I sure as hell didn't wear this dress for _you_, Esposito."

He put his hand over his heart, ostentatiously wounded, and said, "I'm hurt, Beckett. After all our years together and you don't dress pretty for me no more."

Though she threw a pencil end over end toward his chest, she laughed at his poor acting. "Night guys," she concluded as she packed up her stuff and left the precinct. She had a hot meal to pick up and an even hotter male waiting for her at home- At the loft! Not her home, at _his_ home… at his _loft_.

Unfortunately for her independent peace of mind, she could picture herself there all too easily; spending the night, then a weekend… a week… a month… forever…

During the drive to his home, her mind kept alternating between pleasant, domestic fantasies and sheer terror over the magnitude of what those fantasies meant: she was in true love with Castle, the kind that had the potential to last a life time. So why was she so nervous?

To drown out those troublesome thoughts- as well as the not-so-troubling fantasies- Kate blasted the radio and spent the rest of the drive singing along to whatever non-love songs she could find.

Kate finally arrived and when she saw Castle's boyish smile- and the undisguised lust when his gaze raked over her dress- the nervousness fled, leaving only love and a sense of finally being home. That flood of relief almost made her feel silly for those earlier, uneasy feelings about her and Castle.

"I brought you food," Kate eventually pointed out when it did not seem as though Rick was going to speak or invite her in, or even move out of her way so she could enter. He just stood there, staring. She held the bag up for Castle and then pushed it into his chest when he still did not move. He finally grabbed the bag before it could fall as Kate brushed past him into the loft. Not expecting much from the fabulously unhelpful Mr. Castle, Kate began to remove her jacket to get comfortable, but was surprised when he appeared behind her to help her undress (as he saw it). "Why, good morning, Mr. Castle," she teased.

"I thought you said you didn't own a sundress?" he replied.

"I didn't," she insisted as she turned to face him. "But I saw this yesterday in a shop window and I figured you would appreciate it."

Rick set the takeout bags on the kitchen island and reached for Kate's elbow. Guiding her into his embrace, Rick kissed her gently for only a moment and then smiled. "How would you like to help me actualize a fantasy I've always had?"

Kate slid her arms up around his neck and hummed in contemplation. "Only if you'll help me live out one of my own afterward."

"A Kate Beckett Fantasy?" Rick asked in a teasing way as he closed his arms around her, pulling her closer. "You wouldn't want to tell me what it is- in _great_ detail- right now, would you?"

She shook her head no and said, "First comes _your_ fantasy."

Her seductive smile drew his gaze to her lips and as he closed in on her mouth, he asked, "Fantasy first? Or dinner first?" He was only asking to be polite; they both knew nothing else would be done until they had gotten another taste of each other after two days apart.

"I am pretty hungry," she teased in a quiet, husky voice.

"Me too," Rick agreed suggestively, the low rumble of his breath washing over her lips until finally, he kissed her and showed her just how hungry he was. Only, not for food…

Rick broke away panting and had to put her body away from his roughly, or he may not be able to stop kissing her for hours. Kate's outstretched arms were still on his shoulders and when she tried to pull him back to her, Rick stepped away, took her hands, and began leading her toward his bedroom.

Rick finally stopped by the foot of his bed. He turned to face Kate, but before either could move closer to the other, Castle quickly whipped his own shirt off over his head. Then he pulled Kate to him as he stepped toward her, buried a hand in the hair at the back of her head and tilted it to one side so he could kiss her deeply.

Kate's hands moved to touch his bare skin, starting at his chest, then slipping down, around his ribs, and finally to his back where she pressed her palms flat against him and pulled his body into her own. In the same moment, they each moved a single hand down, to grope at the other's backside, and pull their partner's hips against their own.

Rick eventually broke away from Kate's lips in order to trail hungry kisses across her cheek, over her jaw and down to her neck.

Though Kate tilted her head to afford Castle better access- she even ran a hand through his hair to clutch at the back of his head and hold him against her neck- she asked dubiously, "Your fantasy was about the two of us making out like teenagers?"

"No," he replied, the warm air from his soft laugh washing over her skin and making her shiver. Or maybe that was his tongue on her ear that was causing the trembling?

_Who knows and who cares? _Kate thought. _So long as he keeps doing it._

"Although, if you have the naughty school girl uniform…" he chuckled again. "That's a fantasy for another time. For now, why don't you take my pants off and I'd be happy to show you what I had in mind for you and that dress."

With a naughty smile- because even though it wasn't technically a _uniform_, Kate did in fact have a little plaid skirt and the knee socks that, with the right accessories, would indeed make her look like a school girl- her hands drifted from his back, over the skin at his waist and down his abs to the fastening of his jeans.

Pushing the pants down, Kate studied his body as it was bared. "Are you going to undress me now?" Kate asked finally, looking back up at his face.

When Rick shook his head no, Kate frowned. With his mischievous smile, he kissed her lips once more, quickly, before he stepped away and took a seat on the edge of his bed. He opened his knees and directed Kate by his hands on her hips to stand between them. His hands drifted up to cover her torso, exploring her body in the dress much like he did when she wore that leather outfit. Then, just as now, it was not enough for Rick to simply _see _Kate in these appealing costumes, he had to touch her while she wore them to truly appreciate the way she wore them.

Finally, his hands skimmed down her waist, her hips, her legs, and all the way down to her calves. When he got to one ankle, he gave a pointed tug and, balancing carefully with her hands on his shoulders, Kate lifted her foot for him. Rick slipped the high black heel off her foot and moved to take off the other one. When her feet were bare, Castle's grasp slid up her legs, under her dress. He groped her backside for a long moment, molding his hands to the perfect round shape before he squeezed and pulled her closer to him. He pressed many soft kisses to her abdomen, letting them slowly drift from the center and across her ribs, his nose following the bottom curve of her breasts as he moved. He drifted back toward the center and across, but this time, his kisses travelled directly over her breasts. When he began sucking at her though the material, his fingers curled beneath the lacy band of her panties and slowly, he began pulling them down as he continued to tease her.

The lace hit the floor and when Kate stepped out of it, she knew what Rick was up to; he wanted to leave her clothes on, he was not going to undress her at all. With no more confusion in her mind, Kate gently pushed Castle away from her chest and leaned down to kiss him. He moved back- or Kate pushed him, neither knew which- and she followed him down, climbing on the bed to follow him up toward the pillows. She crawled over him and when they finally stopped, Kate sat down on his hips, her center hot on his arousal though neither moved to join together quite yet.

Kate straightened up over him and asked dubiously, "_This_ was your fantasy?"

"I thought it would be fun," Rick said with a casual shrug. Then he adjusted her full skirt, fanning it out across his abdomen and draping it over her thighs, as he asked, "It kind of feels like we're sneaking, doesn't it? And you look so pretty in your dress that I don't want to take it off of you yet."

Kate's hands moved over his chest, touching his warm skin while they talked. It _was_ kind of exhilarating to be fully dressed while an incredibly sexy man was laid out- _naked _- beneath her. "Well, you better enjoy it while you can, because I am _never_ wearing a dress to work again," she told him before leaning down to kiss him.

Rick pulled away and frowned. "Why not?"

"Because exactly what I said would happen, _did_ happen. The suspect today only ran because he thought he could get away from the lady cop in the silly dress and heels. And on top of _that_, Ryan and Esposito think they can get away with recording my takedown and teasing me with it. They don't have nearly enough respect for me when I'm in a dress."

Suddenly, Rick pulled his hands away from exploring her thighs and grimaced. "Uh… could we _not_ talk about… _them_… while I'm naked?"

Kate laughed then asked with a raised eyebrow, "How about when _I'm _naked?"

With a puckish smile and his own cocky eyebrow, Castle told her, "You can say whatever you want when you're naked, baby, 'cause I won't hear a _damn_ thing."

Her eyes narrowed on him dangerously and Rick decided it was probably a good time to distract her; he slipped his hands around her back and pulled her down to him to stop their conversation altogether.

Rick's hands explored her body as they kissed, moving under her skirt and over her bodice. He touched her bare shoulders and her back, but avoided the zipper pointedly to remind himself _not_ to undress her.

Eventually, he did slide one strap off her shoulder so he could pull the neckline of her dress down low enough to expose one single, perfect beast. And Kate helpfully leaned up over him to press it into his mouth. She could not handle the stimulation for long and when she sat back down, she was ready for him. They came together easily amidst happy sighs and moans. They moved together and they touched and kissed and when Kate's slim legs began to grow tired, Rick flipped them over to drive them toward completion. Her wavy hair fanned across his pillow and her skirt was hiked up around her waist, which made Rick remember clandestine trysts with eager fangirls in semi-public places. Even though his bedroom was not technically a public place and Kate definitely was not a fangirl (at least, she would never admit to it, even if she was), the fantasy added to the excitement that Castle had always felt when he was with her. Now that he thought about it, he was probably a bigger fan of Kate than she could ever be of him. _She _did not spend hours and hours of time writing fantasies about him and sometimes even getting paid for it.

Kate arched under him, reclaiming that little bit of focus that had wandered away from her, and Rick trailed his hand down her body, guiding her legs up to wrap around his waist. He fell closer to her as she complied and he whispered in her ear that he loved her. Kate gazed up at him and did not smile, did not reply verbally, but did that thing with her hips that she knew that he loved, making him groan. Rick fell even closer, burying his face in her neck to kiss her skin between moans and whispers and Kate held him tight, her arms and legs wrapped around his body. Soon she was making those gasps and whimpers that meant she was about to break, so Rick kissed her in order to drink in those sounds of pleasure. He followed her closely over the edge, pulling back some so he could watch her face as she came back down to earth. He wanted to record her sounds so he could play them back whenever he wanted- mostly during those interminable hours while she was at work and he was "writing"- or maybe just video tape her face as they made love so he could study all her beautiful expressions. But he could imagine her probably response to that idea and the thought made him smile.

Kate's eyes blinked open lazily but when she noticed Castle's boyish grin, her gaze narrowed on him. "Oh, stop congratulating yourself and go get me some dinner. I'm starved."

Rick's smile turned smug though and his next words set her eyes rolling. "Good sex does tend to make a person hungry."

She really wanted to deny it or make some sarcastic retort, just to knock him down a peg or two and wipe that insufferable- _adorable_- smile off his face. But she found that she no longer had the energy to lie so extravagantly. Plus, that smile was actually quite charming, a fact that used to (and sometimes still did) annoy her to no end. So, with a reluctant sigh, she decided to stoke his ego instead and the fact that she almost never fed into his ego like that was sure to throw him off- which would be its own reward. "Well, then, _great _sex must make a person _famished_. So you better feed me quickly because those ears of yours are beginning to look pretty tasty." To emphasize her point, she leaned up and took his earlobe between her teeth, nibbling gently.

Despite the shudder that tore through his body, he chuckled huskily and pushed away from her. He stood over the bed as he donned his jeans, not bothering with his undershorts, because he had no intention of allowing Kate to replace hers. It would just be unfair then to wear underpants if Kate was not allowed to, right? He smiled over that logic as he grabbed up Kate's hands and pulled her out of bed.

She had been lounging there, watching as he dressed, not bothering to push her skirt down to cover herself or hide the sated smile gracing her sleepy lips. Then groaning, she went reluctantly as Rick pulled her back out to the kitchen. "I thought you were going to feed me in bed," she complained.

"I thought I just did," he threw over his shoulder along with a charmingly roguish smile.

Kate rolled her eyes, unable to believe she had set him up for that lame innuendo. Rick finally began to unpack the bag containing their dinner so Kate excused herself to go to the bathroom.

"Okay," Rick said in warning. "But don't put your panties back on. I already took them off of you once tonight; I do not want to have to do it again."

As he had hoped, Kate laughed. She suspected… no, she _knew_ he would not mind having the opportunity to peel the lacy garment from her body again (he loved undressing her, it seemed, just as much as he loved touching her bare skin) but she obeyed his command no matter how much a part of her wanted to rebel. She knew the rewards for obedience would far outshine the slight to her stubborn independence.

When she returned to the main room, Rick was on the floor in front of the blazing fireplace, set up on a little picnic setting she had not noticed earlier. She had been a little preoccupied. But he must have laid it out before she arrived because there was a blanket covered with pillows and set with plates, glasses, and guttering candles scattered about. She had not been gone _that_ long.

They ate slowly and while they did, they talked. They laughed over Ryan's recording of her takedown that day and while sharing it with her boyfriend, she realized she was not really all that annoyed with Ryan for taking it. Rick's eyes glowed with boyish excitement as he described the video to her (even though she had _lived _it, she was interested to hear Rick's unique narrative of the event) and it was almost enough to persuade her to wear a dress to work every day, if only to see him light up like that.

"Stop staring at me like that, or I won't let you finish your dinner," he warned her suggestively. But it made Kate smile.

"You promise?" she dared him, her eyes taking in all of his long, half-bare form stretched out along the blanket.

He narrowed his eyes on her in feigned annoyance but quickly finished the last few bites.

"_Finally_," Kate muttered when the remains of his dinner were gone. Quickly discarding her own empty plate, she moved toward him on her knees and Rick rose up similarly to meet her in the middle.

"Do you have any idea how distracting it is, trying to focus on food when I know you're practically naked under that dress?" he murmured between kisses and nips to her neck and shoulders. His hand slipped beneath the hem to caress her bare bottom underneath.

"Only half as distracting as trying to eat a meal while sitting across from a half-dressed man," she countered, arching her back to push her bottom into his hands and tilting her head to give him better access to her neck.

He chuckled his acknowledgement and the warm, happy air washed over her damp neck making her shiver. "We're even then," he concluded.

"Hmm," she hummed contemplatively.

But she did not say anymore because Castle was slowly lowering the zipper at her back, caressing the skin with his fingertips as it was exposed.

Having tasted her once already, Castle was not in any hurry the second time around.

The slow, soft, lingering kisses he pressed to her body slowly travelled lower. As he studied the shape of her clavicle with his mouth, his hands slipped back under her dress. His studies eventually brought him down to her sternum as his hands began pulling her skirt up toward her waist. He reached the neckline of her lovely dress, but decided his attention would be better spent on the swells straining against the fabric and not the pretty pattern of flowers covering her body from his view. His grasp slipped up to her ribs, holding her in place as he travelled soft lips across the twin hills of her chest.

Much like past boyfriends, Kate knew what she liked with it came to sex. She had recently compared Castle to past experiences and decided that she liked his playfulness and childish desire to _touch_ everything. _Every _time. But she had not compared _herself_ to past experience and she realized that like her past men, she too often skipped the play and the experimentation because she already knew what she liked, what she wanted. One man had called her 'demanding' because she often prompted him when they were together. But how else would he know what she liked if she didn't tell him?

With Castle, _she _was a different person. With anyone else, Kate would have torn off her dress a long time ago and probably directed his mouth right where she wanted it, but right now… she was as caught up as Rick in the soft slip of warm lips against smooth skin and gentle fingertips grasping at quivering muscles. She did not have to direct him- or more accurately, she did not _want_ to direct him- because these moments (okay, _hours_) with him were as much about the exploration, the rediscovery as it was about the sex.

So Kate did not have to tell him she was ready- way past ready, honestly- for Rick to remove her dress. Her quickened, heavy breaths pushing her chest into his mouth told him now was the time.

Rick smoothed his hands up her sides, gently prompting her to raise her arms, and drew the gauzy thing over her head when she complied. He turned away to make sure he did not damage the lovely dress on any of the many candles around them (he was already planning the next occasion when he might persuade her to wear it for him again) and when he turned back to her, Kate's gaze held his rapt attention. Without taking his eyes away from hers, Rick smoothed her ruffled hair back, replacing the strands he had mussed. Not that she looked any worse for the imperfections; on the contrary, she looked utterly ravishable.

"Is 'ravishable' a word?" he suddenly asked.

Despite the randomness of the question, Kate was not confused. She could guess where Rick's mind had been and her slow smile told him that she found it funny. "You're the writer, love. You tell me."

Returning the smile, he said, "Well, it should be." He loved the fact that she was exploring her newfound ability to use sappy endearments for him and though he was curious to hear what new names she would discover, he particularly liked that last one. It told him in subtext how she felt about him if he was the embodiment of 'love' for her. So he told her, "I know what you're thinking."

Her look was one of challenge mixed with doubt. "Do you?" When he simply nodded in reply, Kate said sarcastically, "Oh, _please_. Tell me what I'm thinking then."

Though he knew she was probably expecting a joke, a taunt, or a boast meant to stroke his own ego- regardless of whether or not she laughed at him for it- Castle's gaze turned serious, his low voice hypnotic. "You're surprised about how much you love me. You're thinking about the person you become when you're with me. And how much you _like _it." His hand went to cup her cheek, his thumb sweetly caressing her lower lip as he studied her vibrant eyes. "You make me different too though, Kate. Every time we're together, you make me better."

Kate was moved beyond words, assuming she could even find the right words to begin with, but at his last line, she had to tease him a little. "Did you just quote Fabolous at me?"

Rick frowned in thought and when he realized what he had done, he laughed. "Here I am, trying to be sweet and serious- a minor miracle you seem to have completely missed- and _you're_ the one being a smart ass."

"You like my ass," she retorted, twitching said body part back and forth to remind Rick's hands of their new location. He squeezed, but before he could confirm or deny, Kate spoke again. "But you're not through telling me what I'm thinking. You forgot one or two things, which is surprising because I thought I was thinking them rather loudly."

Rick watched her smile, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. "Oh," he said, and when she arched her chest into his body, he added, "_Oh_. Really?"

"Yes please."

Neither of them had to say out loud what she was thinking at this point- it would have defeated the purpose anyway. They returned to actions instead.

His hands finally smoothed up her back and released the clasp of her bra. He pushed the straps down her shoulders slowly, kissing her skin as he went. When the bra fell to the floor, Kate finally lifted her hands to touch him. From his waist, up his sides and around to his back, holding him closer. Rick was placing those nibbling little kisses that she usually loved along her shoulder, but he had already done that for a while tonight and she was ready for more. Putting her hand to his cheek, Kate guided him back to her mouth and kissed him. She had teased him before instead of giving him her own paltry words of love, words she feared would never be enough, would never compare to his. So instead of words now, she poured everything she felt into this slow, intense kiss. With the slip of her hands over his body, she told him that she loved the physical presence of him. With the press of her lips to his, she told him how much she loved who he was- author, partner, father, tormentor, all of it. And with the clever stroke of her tongue against his, she told him how much she loved his mind, even when it was conjuring up endless new ways to tease her (like the way his tongue would stroke hers for a moment and then pull away as if teasing her into playing some erotic game of tongue-tag).

Luckily he seemed to understand everything she was not saying. Rick moaned deeply into her kiss and clutched her close. When that was not enough, he slipped his hands down, down her body and to her legs. When he sat back on his feet, he tugged her with him, pulling her onto his lap, his hands guiding her thighs to either side of his waist.

Kate had nothing to support her weight except Castle's body under her own, her arms around his shoulders, her legs bracketing his hips and when her core landed on his jeans, she moaned.

Rick broke away to lean her body back. When he laid her down on their picnic blanket, he thought he liked this look a lot better than the earlier one, the one where she was still clothed, no matter how titillating that scene had been. With her soft eyes on him and her body bared to his uninterrupted study, he thought he might even like this look better than a few nights ago when she wore her leather outfit for him.

Kisses trailed over her lips, down her throat and across her chest. She clutched at him, tried to bring him back to her mouth, and when that did not work, at least hold him to her chest. But Rick would not be held for long and he kept on, obviously set on a particular target now. When his mouth found its goal, Kate gasped, her body writhing under the stroke of his tongue on wet, swollen flesh.

Pathetic whimpers tore from her throat and when he glanced up her body to see her face as he pleasured her, Kate gasped, "No, Castle. I need you."

She couldn't even find it in her to be annoyed by his slow, cocky grin. Kate just exulted that it meant he was going to comply and finally give her what she wanted. Rick stood on his knees to quickly rid himself of his jeans and when he was lowering his body over her, Kate welcomed him with eager arms. Her hands slid over his chest and down. When she took him in her hand, she stroked him once, twice, and then placed him at her entrance. Happy hands went to his back side and urged him into her tight embrace. He fell to her slowly, taking time to enjoy their sighs and moans of pleasure as he sank into her body once again.

Their only movements for a while were small twitches and shifts that would bring their bodies more deeply together as they held each other's gaze.

Rick smiled tenderly before asking, "Was this your fantasy, love?"

Her answering smile was smug when she shook her head and replied, "_You _set this up, babe. This is another one of _your _fantasies, not mine."

When Rick frowned adorably, Kate wanted to laugh. "Do you… is this okay? Do you want to do this somewhere else?"

Kate sighed happily but knew better than to tease him again right now. She looked around her at the plush blanket beneath her, the flickering candles throwing shadows over everything, and the warmth from the fire place heating their bare bodies. Then she looked up at the man who had arranged it all for her and she smiled. Smoothing her hand over his hair affectionately, she told him, "If this wasn't a fantasy before, it sure is now. It's beautiful, Rick. And I wouldn't change _anything_." Her smile turned sly, naughty, when she added, "Except maybe the pace with which you're moving in and out of me."

"I'm not…" he began but broke off with a smile. "_Oh_."

"Exactly," Kate agreed, shifting her hips beneath him.

Castle did not give in to the taunt quite yet, tempting though she might be. Instead, he told her, "I was right about one thing though."

"That's a first," she teased and when he frowned petulantly, Kate laughed. Her fingers soothed his ear as if in apology and she asked, "What were you right about?"

"How lovely you look in the firelight, spread out beneath me on the floor. Even then, my fantasies didn't do you justice." He leaned down and kissed her briefly before putting his lips to her ear. "Can we stay just like this forever?"

"_No_," she insisted and when Castle pulled back, surprised, her knees dropped out to each side, her hands slipped down over his bum and she squeezed him closer. "I want you _moving_ already!" she insisted. _So much for not having to prompt Rick_, she silently complained.

Though his breath faltered for her shifting, he rolled his eyes with teasing exasperation when he retorted, "That's what I meant!" and then, before she could reply, he grabbed her thigh to hold her still as he pulled away and quickly drove back home again. "I want _this_ to last forever," he clarified breathlessly.

**A/N: This was amusing; I use the word 'ravishable' in this story somewhere, and Microsoft did not want to accept that as a word. Rick's question wasn't so stupid after all. ;-D**


End file.
